The Group’s exposure to variations in market interest rates is one of the main financial risks linked to the pursuit of its banking operations. The risk of repricing, which stems from the difference between the periods for reviewing interest rates or the maturity of investment transactions vis-à-vis their financing, constitutes the basic interest rate risk to be considered. Nonetheless, other risks such as the exposure to changes in the slope and shape of interest-rate curves and the risk of optionality present in certain banking transactions are also taken into consideration by risk control mechanisms.
The sensitivity measurements of the Group’s net interest income and economic value in the face of variations in market interest rates are complemented by forecast scenarios and risk measurements using curve simulation processes, thereby allowing an assessment of the impact changes have on the slope, curvature and parallel movements of varying magnitude.
Especially important in the measurement of structural interest rate risk, which is carried out every month, is the establishment of hypotheses on the evolution and performance of certain items on the balance sheet, especially those involving products with no explicit or contractual due date.
The most significant of these hypotheses are those established on current and savings accounts, since they largely condition risk levels given the volume they represent within the liabilities of the Group’s financial institutions.
A prior step to the study of these liabilities necessarily involves “account segmentation.” To do so, the balances on the balance sheet are broken down by products, analyzed separately and subsequently grouped according to their common features, especially with regard to the type of customer and the criteria on the remuneration of each account, independently of the accounting standards on grouping.
A first stage involves analyzing the relationship between the trends in market interest rates and the interest rates of those accounts with no contractual due date. This relationship is established by means of models that show whether the account’s remuneration can be considered either fixed-rate (there is no relationship between the two variables) or variable-rate. In this latter case, an assessment is made of whether this relationship is produced with some form of delay and what the percentage impact of the variations in market interest rates is on the account’s interest rate.
Subsequently, an analysis is made of the changes over time of the balances in each category in order to establish their overall trend against the seasonal variations in the balance. It is assumed that these seasonal variations mature in the very short term, whereas the trend in the balance is assigned a long-term maturity. This prevents oscillations in the level of risks caused by momentary variations in balances, thus favoring the stability of balance-sheet management. This breakdown of amounts is made by the regressions that best adjust historical changes to the balance over time.
Group companies have opted for different procedures to determine the maturity of transactional liabilities, taking into account the varying nature of markets and the availability of historical data. In the case of the Group, a descriptive analysis of the data is used to calculate the average contractual period of the accounts and the conditioned probability of maturity for the life cycle of the product. A theoretical distribution of maturities of the trend balance is then estimated for each of the products, based on the average life of the stock and the conditioned probability.
A further aspect to be considered in the model’s hypotheses is the analysis of the prepayments associated with certain positions, especially with the loan-book and mortgage portfolios. Changes in market interest rates, together with other variables, condition the incentives for the Bank’s customers to make an early prepayment of the loan granted, thus modifying the calendar of payments initially specified in the contract.
The analysis of historical information relating to loan prepayments, and to changes in interest rates, establishes the relationship between the two at any particular moment and estimates future prepayment in a given interest-rate scenario.