Financial instrument

Financial instruments are tradable assets of any kind. They can be cash, evidence of an ownership interest in an entity, or a contractual right to receive or deliver cash or another financial instrument.

International Accounting Standards IAS 32 and 39 define a financial instrument as "any contract that gives rise to a financial asset of one entity and a financial liability or equity instrument of another entity".^[1]

Types

Financial instruments can be either cash instruments or derivative instruments:

• Cash instruments —instruments whose value is determined directly by the markets. They can be securities, which are readily transferable, and instruments such as loans and deposits, where both borrower and lender have to agree on a transfer.
• Derivative instruments —instruments which derive their value from the value and characteristics of one or more underlying entities such as an asset, index, or interest rate. They can be exchange-traded derivatives and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.^[2]

Alternatively, financial instruments may be categorized by "asset class" depending on whether they are equity based (reflecting ownership of the issuing entity) or debt based (reflecting a loan the investor has made to the issuing entity). If it is debt, it can be further categorised into short term (less than one year) or long term. Foreign exchange instruments and transactions are neither debt- nor equity-based and belong in their own category.

Asset class	Instrument type
	Securities	Other cash	Exchange-traded derivatives	OTC derivatives
Debt (long term) > 1 year	Bonds	Loans	Bond futures Options on bond futures	Interest rate swaps Interest rate caps and floors Interest rate options Exotic derivatives
Debt (short term) ≤ 1 year	Bills, e.g. T-bills Commercial paper	Deposits Certificates of deposit	Short-term interest rate futures	Forward rate agreements
Equity	Stock	N/A	Stock options Equity futures	Stock options Exotic derivatives
Foreign exchange	N/A	Spot foreign exchange	Currency futures	Foreign exchange options Outright forwards Foreign exchange swaps Currency swaps

Some instruments defy categorization into the above matrix, for example repurchase agreements.

Measuring gain or loss

The gain or loss on a financial instrument is as follows:

Instrument Type
	Categories	Measurement	Gains and losses
Assets	Loans and receivables	Amortized costs	Net income when asset is derecognized or impaired (foreign exchange and impairment recognized in net income immediately)
Assets	Available for sale financial assets	Deposit account – fair value	Other comprehensive income (impairment recognized in net income immediately)

See also

• Off-balance-sheet issues

References

1. International Accounting Standard (IAS) 32.11
2. Understanding Derivatives. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Accessed August 2, 2015.

External links

• IFRS List – The online community about IFRS/IAS and Auditing
• Understanding Derivatives: Markets and Infrastructure Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Financial Markets Group