IFRS 9 Classification Aspects – Measurement of Sustainability-Linked Loans at Amortised Cost or Fair Value

Abstract

Lending agreements may contain certain sustainability-linked features that can modify the contractual cash flows via the interest - shall the borrowers meet or fail to meet the objectives set by the loan agreement. IFRS 9 provides that in order to measure the financial assets at amortised cost, the primary objective of the business model in which the asset is held shall focus on the collection of the cash flows over the life of the asset and the contractual terms of the financial asset shall give rise on specified dates to cash flows that are solely payments of principal and interest on the principal amount outstanding. In other words, the contract is a basic lending agreement. At the time of the IFRS 9 implementation, commercial banks sought to measure financial assets, when possible, at amortised cost as it is more predictable and stable compared to fair value measurement. The International Accounting Standards Board is willing to amend IFRS 9 in order to ensure the true and fair view of the financial statements in respect of lending agreements with sustainability-linked features since it appears that the current regulation of IFRS 9 would result in fair value measurement rather than measurement at amortised cost. The objective of this paper is to summarise the implications of sustainability-linked features from accounting point of view by presenting the requirements of IFRS 9 with regard to classification, the application of them and the current dilemmas.