Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We use various financial instruments, particularly interest rate caps, to manage and reduce the interest rate risk related to our debt. Foreign currency forwards, spots, and swaps are also used to manage and reduce the foreign currency exchange rate risk associated with our foreign currency denominated receivables and payables, forecasted royalties, forecasted earnings, cash flows of foreign subsidiaries, and other transactions.
We are exclusively an end user of these instruments, which are commonly referred to as derivatives. We do not engage in trading, market making, or other speculative activities in the derivatives markets. More detailed information about these financial instruments is provided in Note 19— Financial Instruments to the Consolidated Financial Statements. Our principal market exposures are interest rate and foreign currency rate risks.
• Our primary interest rate exposure as of December 31, 2021, was to interest rate fluctuations in the U.S., specifically LIBOR and asset-backed commercial paper interest rates due to their impact on variable rate borrowings and other interest rate sensitive liabilities. In addition, interest rate movements in one country, as well as relative interest rate movements between countries, can impact us. We anticipate that LIBOR and asset-backed commercial paper rates will remain a primary market risk exposure until an appropriate replacement is adopted.
• We are currently evaluating the impact of the transition from LIBOR as an interest rate benchmark to other potential alternative reference rates, including but not limited to SOFR. Currently, we have debt and derivative instruments in place that reference LIBOR-based rates. Although certain of these LIBOR based obligations provide for alternative methods of calculating the related interest rate payable (including transition to an alternative benchmark rate) if LIBOR is not reported, uncertainty as to the extent and manner of future changes may result in interest rates and/or payments that are higher than, lower than, or that do not otherwise correlate over time with the interest rates and/or payments that would have been made on our obligations if LIBOR was available in its current form. The transition from LIBOR based benchmark rates is expected to begin January 1, 2022 and be completed when USD LIBOR rates are phased out by June 30, 2023. Management will continue to actively assess the related opportunities and risks involved in this transition. We adopted appropriate LIBOR replacement rate transition language into the agreements for the renewal of our USD bank conduit facility in 2020 and the renewal of the credit agreement governing the revolving credit facility and term loan B which closed on October 22, 2021. These agreements represented our largest exposure to LIBOR.
• We have foreign currency rate exposure to exchange rate fluctuations worldwide particularly with respect to the Euro, British pound sterling, Australian and Canadian dollars, and Mexican peso. We anticipate that such foreign currency exchange rate risk will remain a market risk exposure for the foreseeable future.
We assess our market risks based on changes in interest and foreign currency exchange rates utilizing a sensitivity analysis that measures the potential impact in earnings, fair values, and cash flows based on a hypothetical 10% change (increase and decrease) in interest and foreign currency exchange rates. We used December 31, 2021 market rates to perform a sensitivity analysis separately for each of our market risk exposures. The estimates assume instantaneous, parallel shifts in interest rate yield curves and exchange rates. We have determined, through such analyses, that a hypothetical 10% change in the interest
53
Table of Contents
rates would have resulted in a less than $1 million increase or decrease in annual consumer financing interest expense and total interest expense. We use a current market pricing model to assess the changes in the value of our foreign currency derivatives used to hedge underlying exposure that primarily consist of our non-functional current assets and liabilities and those of our subsidiaries. The primary assumption used in these models is a hypothetical 10% weakening or strengthening of the U.S. dollar against all our currency exposures as of December 31, 2021. As of December 31, 2021, the absolute notional amount of our outstanding foreign exchange hedging instruments was $58 million. We have determined that a hypothetical 10% change in the foreign currency exchange rates would have resulted in an approximate increase or decrease to the fair value of our outstanding forward foreign currency exchange contracts of $4 million, which would generally be offset by an opposite effect on the underlying exposure being economically hedged. As such, we believe that a 10% change in interest rates or foreign currency exchange rates would not have a material effect on our prices, earnings, fair values, or cash flows.
Our variable rate borrowings, which include our term loan B, non-recourse conduit facilities, and revolving credit facility, expose us to risks caused by fluctuations in the applicable interest rates. The total outstanding balance of such variable rate borrowings at December 31, 2021 was $320 million in non-recourse debt and $288 million in corporate debt. A 100 basis point change in the underlying interest rates would result in a $3 million increase or decrease in annual consumer financing interest expense and a $3 million increase or decrease in our annual debt interest expense.
The fair values of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables, accounts payable and accrued expenses and other current liabilities approximate carrying values due to the short-term nature of these assets and liabilities. We use a discounted cash flow model in determining the fair values of VOCRs. The primary assumptions used in determining fair value are prepayment speeds, estimated loss rates, and discount rates. We use a duration-based model in determining the impact of interest rate shifts on our debt and interest rate derivatives. The primary assumption used in these models is that a 10% increase or decrease in the benchmark interest rate produces a parallel shift in the yield curve across all maturities.
Our total market risk is influenced by a wide variety of factors including the volatility present within the markets and the liquidity of the markets. There are certain limitations inherent in the sensitivity analyses presented. While probably the most meaningful analysis, these “shock tests” are constrained by several factors, including the necessity to conduct the analysis based on a single point in time and the inability to include the complex market reactions that normally would arise from the market shifts modeled.
We used December 31, 2021 market rates on outstanding financial instruments to perform the sensitivity analysis separately for each of our market risk exposures: interest and foreign currency rate instruments. The estimates are based on the market risk sensitive portfolios described in the preceding paragraphs and assume instantaneous, parallel shifts in interest rate yield curves and exchange rates.
54
Table of Contents