Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35Show full title

Subsection 2 Basic risk free interest rate term structure

Article 44 Relevant financial instruments to derive the basic risk-free interest rates

1. For each currency and maturity, the basic risk-free interest rates shall be derived on the basis of interest rate swap rates for interest rates of that currency, adjusted to take account of credit risk.

2. For each currency, for maturities where interest rate swap rates are not available from deep, liquid and transparent financial markets the rates of government bonds issued in that currency, adjusted to take account of the credit risk of the government bonds, shall be used to derive the basic risk free-interest rates, provided that, such government bond rates are available from deep, liquid and transparent financial markets.

Article 45 Adjustment to swap rates for credit risk

The adjustment for credit risk referred to in Article 44(1) shall be determined in a transparent, prudent, reliable and objective manner that is consistent over time. The adjustment shall be determined on the basis of the difference between rates capturing the credit risk reflected in the floating rate of interest rate swaps and overnight indexed swap rates of the same maturity, where both rates are available from deep, liquid and transparent financial markets. The calculation of the adjustment shall be based on 50 percent of the average of that difference over a time period of one year. The adjustment shall not be lower than 10 basis points and not higher than 35 basis points.

Article 46 Extrapolation

1. The principles applied when extrapolating the relevant risk free interest rate term structure shall be the same for all currencies. This shall also apply as regards the determination of the longest maturities for which interest rates can be observed in a deep, liquid and transparent market and the mechanism to ensure a smooth convergence to the ultimate forward rate.

2. Where insurance and reinsurance undertakings apply Article 77d of Directive 2009/138/EC, the extrapolation shall be applied to the risk-free interest rates including the volatility adjustment referred to in that Article.

3. Where insurance and reinsurance undertakings apply Article 77b of Directive 2009/138/EC, the extrapolation shall be based on the risk-free interest rates without a matching adjustment. The matching adjustment referred to in that Article shall be applied to the extrapolated risk-free interest rates.

Article 47 Ultimate forward rate

1. For each currency, the ultimate forward rate referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 46 shall be stable over time and shall only change as a result of changes in long-term expectations. The methodology to derive the ultimate forward rate shall be clearly specified in order to ensure the performance of scenario calculations by insurance and reinsurance undertakings. It shall be determined in a transparent, prudent, reliable and objective manner that is consistent over time.

2. For each currency the ultimate forward rate shall take account of expectations of the long-term real interest rate and of expected inflation, provided those expectations can be determined for that currency in a reliable manner. The ultimate forward rate shall not include a term premium to reflect the additional risk of holding long-term investments.

Article 48 Basic risk-free interest rate term structure of currencies pegged to the euro

1. For a currency pegged to the euro, the basic risk-free interest rate term structure for the euro, adjusted for currency risk, may be used to calculate the best estimate with respect to insurance or reinsurance obligations denoted in that currency, provided that all of the following conditions are met:

(a) the pegging ensures that the exchange rate between that currency and the euro stays within a range not wider than 20 % of the upper limit of the range;

(b) the economic situation of the euro area and the area of that currency are sufficiently similar to ensure that interest rates for the euro and that currency develop in a similar way;

(c) the pegging arrangement ensures that the relative changes in the exchange rate over a one-year-period do not exceed the range referred to in point (a) of this paragraph, in the event of extreme market events, that correspond to the confidence level set out in Article 101(3) of Directive 2009/138/EC;

(d) one of the following criteria is complied with:

(i)

participation of that currency in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II);

(ii)

existence of a decision from the Council which recognizes pegging arrangements between that currency and the euro;

(iii)

establishment of the pegging arrangement by the law of the country establishing that country's currency.

For the purpose of point (c), the financial resources of the parties that guarantee the pegging shall be taken into account.

2. The adjustment for currency risk shall be negative and shall correspond to the cost of hedging against the risk that the value in the pegged currency of an investment denominated in euro decreases as a result of changes in the level of the exchange rate between the euro and the pegged currency. The adjustment shall be the same for all insurance and reinsurance undertakings.