Accounting policies for the consolidated balance sheet and profit and loss account (continued)
Basis of presentation
ING Group applies International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (‘EU’).
The following standards and interpretations became effective in 2008: International Financial Reporting Interpretation Committee (IFRIC) 12 ‘Service Concession Arrangements’, IFRIC 14 ‘IAS 19 – The Limit of a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction’ and ‘Reclassification of Financial Assets: Amendments to IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures’. None of these recently issued standards and interpretations has had a material effect on equity or result for the year.
The following new and revised standards and interpretations were issued by the IASB, which become effective for ING Group as of 2009 (unless otherwise indicated):
- Amendment to IFRS 1 ‘First-time adoption of IFRS’ (effective as of 2010)
- Amendment to IFRS 2 ‘Share-based Payments’ – ‘Vesting Conditions and Cancellations’
- IFRS 3 ‘Business Combinations’ (revised) and IAS 27 ‘Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements’ (amended) (effective as of 2010)
- IFRS 8 ‘Operating Segments’
- IAS 1 ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’
- IAS 23 ‘Borrowing Costs’
- Amendments to IAS 32 ‘Financial Instruments: Presentation’ and IAS 1 ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’ – ‘Puttable Financial Instruments and Obligations Arising on Liquidation’
- Amendments to IFRS 1 ‘First-time Adoption of IFRS’ and IAS 27 ‘Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements’ – Determining the cost of an Investment in the Separate Financial Statements’
- Amendment to IAS 39 ‘Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement’ – ‘Eligible Hedged Items’ (effective as of 2010)
- IFRIC 13 ‘Customer Loyalty Programmes’
- IFRIC 15 ‘Agreements for the Construction of Real Estate’
- IFRIC 16 ‘Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Operation’
- 2008 Annual Improvements to IFRS
- IFRIC 17 ‘Distributions of Non-cash Assets to Owners’ (effective as of 2010)
- IFRIC 18 ‘Transfers of Assets from Customers’ (effective as of 2010)
- Amendment to IFRS 7 ‘Improving Disclosures about Financial Instruments’
- Amendments to IFRIC 9 and IAS 39 – ‘Embedded Derivatives’.
ING Group does not expect the adoption of these new or revised standards and interpretations to have a significant effect on the consolidated financial statements.
International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU provide several options in accounting policies. ING Group’s accounting policies under International Financial Reporting Standards, as adopted by the EU and its decision on the options available, are set out in the section ‘Principles of valuation and determination of results’ below.
In this document the term ‘IFRS-EU’ is used to refer to International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU, including the decisions ING Group made with regard to the options available under International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU.
As explained in the section ‘Principles of valuation and determination of results’ and in Note 23 ‘Derivatives and hedge accounting’ ING Group applies fair value hedge accounting to portfolio hedges of interest rate risk (macro hedging) under the EU ‘carve out’ of IFRS-EU.
The presentation of, and certain terms used in, the consolidated balance sheet, the consolidated profit and loss account, consolidated statement of cash flows, consolidated statement of changes in equity and certain notes has been changed to provide additional and more relevant information.
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