Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We utilize interest rate swaps in order to hedge a portion of our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. We do not intend to enter into derivative or interest rate transactions for speculative purposes. Our hedging decisions are determined based upon the facts and circumstances existing at the time of the hedge and may differ from our currently anticipated hedging strategy. Because we use derivative financial instruments to hedge against interest rate fluctuations, we may be exposed to both credit risk and market risk. Credit risk is the failure of the counterparty to perform under the terms of the derivative contract. If the fair value of a derivative contract is positive, the counterparty will owe us, which creates credit risk for us. If the fair value of a derivative contract is negative, we will owe the counterparty and, therefore, do not have credit risk. We seek to minimize the credit risk in derivative instruments by entering into transactions with high-quality counterparties. Market risk is the adverse effect on the value of a financial instrument that results from a change in interest rates. The market risk associated with interest-rate contracts is managed by establishing and monitoring parameters that limit the types and degree of market risk that may be undertaken.
As of December 31, 2020, we had six interest rate swaps that fixed LIBOR on $1.0 billion of our unsecured term loan facilities.
As of December 31, 2020, we had not fixed the interest rate on $ 580.5 million of our unsecured debt through derivative financial instruments, and as a result, we are subject to the potential impact of rising interest rates, which could negatively impact our profitability and cash flows. We estimate that a one percentage point increase in interest rates on the outstanding balance of our variable-rate debt at December 31, 2020 would result in approximately $5.8 million of additional interest expense annually. The additional interest expense was determined based on the impact of hypothetical interest rates on our borrowing cost and assumes no changes in our capital structure. For further discussion of certain quantitative details related to our interest rate swaps, see Note 10.
The information presented above does not consider all exposures or positions that could arise in the future. Hence, the information represented herein has limited predictive value. As a result, the ultimate realized gain or loss with respect to interest rate fluctuations will depend on the exposures that arise during the period, the hedging strategies at the time, and the related interest rates.
We do not have any foreign operations, and thus, we are not exposed to foreign currency fluctuations.
In July 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority (the regulatory authority over LIBOR) stated that it would phase out LIBOR as a benchmark. In November 2020, the Federal Reserve Board announced that banks must stop writing new U.S. dollar (“USD”) LIBOR contracts by the end of 2021 and that, no later than June 30, 2023, when USD LIBOR will no longer be published, market participants should amend legacy contracts to use the Secured Overnight Financing Rate or another alternative reference rate. We have contracts that are indexed to LIBOR and are monitoring and evaluating the related risks, which include interest amounts on our variable rate debt as discussed in Note 9 and the swap rate for our interest rate swaps, as discussed in Note 10. See “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this filing on Form 10-K for further discussion on risks related to changes in LIBOR reporting practices, the method in which LIBOR is determined, or the use of alternative reference rates.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
See the Index to Consolidated Financial Statements on page F-1 of this report.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.