s) Provisions and contingent liabilities
Provisions are liabilities involving uncertainty about their amount or maturity. They are recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position when the following requirements are met:
·a present (legal or implicit) obligation has arisen from a past event; and
·as of the date of the consolidated financial statements, it is probable that the Bank and/or its controlled entities will have to disburse resources to settle the obligation and the amount can be reliably measured.
A contingent liability is any obligation that arises from past events whose existence will be confirmed only if one or more uncertain future events occur that are not within the control of the Bank and its controlled entities.
The annual consolidated financial statements include all material provisions with respect to which it is considered more likely than not that the obligation will have to be settled.
Provisions that are quantified on the basis of the best available information regarding the consequences of the event that gives rise to them, and are re-estimated at the end of each accounting period are used to cover the specific obligations for which they were originally recognized, and are reversed in full or in part when those obligations cease to exist or are reduced.
Provisions are classified into the following groups in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position based on the obligations they cover:
·Employee benefits and staff salaries
·Mandatory dividends
·Contingencies