Introduction

This section analyses how the Group manages financial risks within its operating environment.

6.1: Contingent Assets and Liabilities

Quantifiable Contingencies

The Group had no significant quantifiable contingencies as at 30 June 2019 or 2018 that are not disclosed elsewhere in these accounts.

Unquantifiable Contingencies

At 30 June 2019 and 2018 the Group had no significant unquantifiable contingencies.

Accounting Policy

Contingent liabilities and contingent assets are not recognised in the statement of financial position but are reported in the relevant schedules and notes. They may arise from uncertainty as to the existence of a liability or asset or represent an asset or liability in respect of which the amount cannot be reliably measured. Contingent assets are disclosed when settlement is probable but not more than likely and contingent liabilities are disclosed when settlement is greater than remote.

Concessionality that may arise in relation to contingent credit facilities, in the situation where the Group has retained discretion as to whether it will fund these future commitments (i.e. they are subject to the occurrence of future uncertain events), is not recorded until such time as the loan commitments become non-contingent.

Financial guarantee contracts are accounted for in accordance with AASB 9 Financial Instruments. They are not treated as a contingent liability, as they are regarded as financial instruments outside the scope of AASB 137 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets.

6.2: Financial Instruments

6.2A: Categories of financial instruments

Financial Assets

Reclassifications of financial assets as a result of the adoption of AASB 9 are shown in the table below. There were no reclassifications of financial liabilities during the year.

6.2B: Net gains or losses on financial assets

The total income from financial assets not at fair value through profit or loss was $143,514,000 (2018: $132,359,000).

6.2C: Credit risk

Credit risk arises from the possibility of defaults on contractual obligations, resulting in financial loss.

The Group manages its credit risk by undertaking background and credit checks prior to allowing a debtor relationship. In addition, the Group has policies and procedures that guide employees’ debt recovery techniques.

The Group evaluates each customer’s credit worthiness on a case-by-case basis. The amount of collateral obtained, if deemed necessary by the Group upon extension of credit, is based on Management’s credit evaluation of the counterparty. Collateral held will vary, but may include:

• a floating charge over all assets and undertakings of an entity, including uncalled capital and called but unpaid capital;
• specific or inter-locking guarantees;
• specific charges over defined assets of the counterparty; and
• loan agreements which include affirmative and negative covenants and in some instances, guarantees of counterparty obligations.

The Group monitors exposures to counterparties and has set exposure limits for each counterparty.

Credit quality of financial instruments not past due or individually determined as impaired

Cash and cash equivalents are held with authorised deposit-taking institutions in Australia in accordance with the prudential controls set by the PGPA Act.

Non-financial assets, including property, plant and equipment, have not been included in the above table as there is no significant associated credit risk.

6.2D: Liquidity risk

The Group’s financial liabilities are trade creditors, operating leases, provisions for concessional loans and amounts owing to the Australian Taxation Office. The exposure to liquidity risk is based on the notion that the Group will encounter difficulty in meeting its obligations associated with financial liabilities. This is considered highly unlikely as the Group has significant cash balances, all invested short-term, access to government funding, and internal policies and procedures in place to ensure there are appropriate resources to meet its financial obligations.

Any financing shortfall is addressed through the contribution of equity provided by the Australian Government from the CEFC Special Account that was to be funded in an amount of $2 billion per annum for each of the five years from 1 July 2013 to 1 July 2018. The Corporation has drawn amounts totalling $ 4,762.8 million (2018: $4,162.8 million) from this Special Account to fund its investments and has returned amounts totalling $441.8 million (2018: $441.8 million) in relation to investments that have been redeemed or repaid, leaving a net drawn balance of $4,321 million at 30 June 2019 (2018: $3,721 million).

6.2E: Market risk

As part of its normal operations, the Group may enter into a variety of transactions including loans, guarantees, bonds, and equity and trust investments, which may have exposure to market risk. Investment carrying values and revenue earned may be impacted as a result of changes in GDP growth rate, interest rates, electricity prices, property values and foreign exchange rates.

The Group may enter into financial derivative transactions to protect against foreign exchange risks associated with its investment function. The Group does not enter into derivative instruments for speculative or trading purposes.

Derivative transactions may include:

• interest rate swaps, forward rate agreements and futures contracts which protect against interest rate movements where the interest rate basis of the borrowing is different from that of the required liability to fund assets. These contracts are used primarily to convert between fixed rate and floating rate exposures;
• cross-currency swaps which protect the Group against interest rate and foreign exchange movements where the currency of the asset and interest receipts are not Australian dollars; and
• forward foreign exchange contracts which are used to protect against foreign exchange movements in investments, loans and borrowings. The Group also conducts stress testing, including examining the impact on the credit portfolio of adverse movements in foreign exchange rates and interest rates.

a) Interest rate risk

The Group is involved in lending and therefore its revenues and the carrying value of its investments may be exposed to changes in interest rates.

The impact of a change in interest rates on the Group’s interest income is not expected to be material as the majority of the Group’s loans and advances are at fixed rates; however, interest receivable from cash and other financial assets will be impacted prospectively from a change in interest rates. The Group’s primary exposure to interest rate risks of interest bearing financial assets and financial liabilities is set out below. Interest on financial instruments classified as floating rate is repriced at intervals of less than one year. Interest on financial instruments classified as fixed rate is fixed until maturity of the instrument.

The cash and cash equivalents and other financial assets are expected to be invested in loans and advances and other debt securities in the short term, and the majority of these financial assets are expected to be classified as fixed rate. A +/–50bp change in the interest rate on floating rate financial assets would have approximately a $3.0 million (2018: $3.9 million) impact on the reported revenue and surplus.

For the Group’s financial assets carried at amortised cost, any change to fair value arising from a movement in the market interest rates has no impact on the reported profit or loss unless an investment is sold prior to maturity and crystallises a previously unrealised gain or loss.

In certain circumstances cash flow hedges may be entered into to hedge the exposure to variability in interest rate movements that are attributable to future interest cash flows. The Group has not currently entered into any interest rate hedges.

For the Group’s financial assets carried at FVTPL, a +/–100bp change in the yield of the debt securities would have approximately a $58 million (2018: $56 million) impact on the fair value at which the instruments are recorded in the statement of financial position and fair value gains/losses in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income. As the coupon on the bonds is fixed, a change in prevailing interest rates would have no impact on the reported revenue.

b) Electricity prices

A significant portion of the Group’s loans and advances are to borrowers in the renewable energy industry, whose revenues are dependent on the electricity prices. A significant change in the electricity prices could have an impact on the borrowers’ ability to service their debts to CEFC and also the value of the underlying securities.

The Group manages this risk by establishing limits in relation to merchant energy price exposure, including gearing and break-even covenants within contractual arrangements on projects, monitoring the credit worthiness of the equity counterparties, and monitoring the exposure to individual electricity retailers and other parties who are providing power purchase off-take agreements for the renewable projects.

c) Property values

A portion of the Group’s financial investments are in commercial property funds where the return and unit value are directly related to property values. The Group has also made loans and advances to borrowers in the property sector. A significant change in property values would impact on the carrying value and distributions from the AFS investments and could have an impact on the carrying value of loans and advances arising from the borrowers’ ability to service their debts to CEFC and the value of the underlying security.

The Group manages this risk by establishing limits in relation to its exposure to the various property sectors, including gearing and debt service covenants within contractual arrangements as well as monitoring the credit worthiness of the counterparties.

d) Foreign exchange risk

Foreign exchange risk is the risk that the fair value of foreign denominated assets and future cash flows may fluctuate because of changes in foreign exchange rates or the credit quality of the swap counter-party bank.

At year end, the Group had one US dollar denominated receivable and has entered into a single cash flow hedge relationship in relation to that loan. Movements in the foreign currency exchange rates are expected to have no impact on the reported profit or loss unless the investment is redeemed or the hedge broken prior to anticipated maturity and crystallises a previously unrealised gain or loss. The underlying hedged item is a loan classified as loans and receivables at amortised cost.

Movement in the cash flow hedge reserve is as follows:

Fair value hedges are intended to hedge the exposure to variability in fair value movements that are attributable to future interest cash flows only. No fair value hedges are currently held.

The table below summarises, in Australian dollar equivalents, the Group’s exposures to currencies other than the Australian dollar.

As shown by the above table, the net foreign exchange exposure as at 30 June 2019 is minimal. Any imbalance in this currency will arise largely due to movements in credit risk.

The exposure to foreign exchange rate movement is kept to a minimum as significant foreign currency denominated loans and advances are converted via cross currency swaps into Australian dollars. The three main components that are exposed to foreign exchange movements relate to:

1. future fixed interest profit that has been taken to income in foreign currency;
2. future risk premiums and other residual components taken to income in foreign currency; and
3. the allowance for credit risk which is held in Australian dollars against loans predominantly in foreign currency.

6.2F: Concentration of exposure

Concentration of credit risk exists when a number of counterparties are engaged in similar activities, or operate in the same geographical areas or industry sectors and have similar economic characteristics so that their ability to meet contractual obligations is similarly affected by changes in economic, political or other conditions.

The Group has a significant concentration of exposure to the energy and renewables sectors since it has been established for investment in commercialisation and deployment of (or in relation to the use of) Australian based renewable energy, energy efficiency and low emissions technologies (or businesses that supply goods or services needed to develop the same), with at least 50% of its investment in the renewables sector.

The Group is in the early stage of investment and therefore will have a relatively concentrated exposure to individual assets, entities and industries until such time as it is able to establish a more broad and diversified portfolio.

6.3: Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The following table provides an analysis of financial instruments that are measured at fair value, or for which fair value is disclosed, by valuation method.

The different levels are defined below:

• Level 1: Fair value obtained from unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical instruments.
• Level 2: Fair value derived from inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the instrument, either directly or indirectly.
• Level 3: Fair value derived from inputs that are not based on observable market data.

Fair value hierarchy for financial instruments:

Accounting Policy

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The fair value measurement is based on the presumption that the transaction to sell the asset or transfer the liability takes place either:

• in the principal market for the asset or liability; or
• in the absence of a principal market, in the most advantageous market for the asset or liability.

The principal or the most advantageous market must be accessible to the Group. The fair value of an asset or a liability is measured using the assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability, assuming that market participants act in their economic best interests.

A fair value measurement of a non-financial asset takes into account a market participant’s ability to generate economic benefits by using the asset in its highest and best use or by selling it to another market participant that would use the asset in its highest and best use.

The Group uses valuation techniques that are appropriate in the circumstances and for which sufficient data are available to measure fair value, maximising the use of relevant observable inputs and minimising the use of unobservable inputs.

For assets and liabilities that are recognised in the financial statements on a recurring basis, the Group determines whether transfers have occurred between levels in the hierarchy by re-assessing categorisation (based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement as a whole) at the end of each reporting period.

Management assessed that cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, trade and other receivables, other financial assets, supplier payables and other payables approximate their carrying amounts largely due to the short-term maturities of these instruments.

The fair value of the financial assets and liabilities is included at the amount at which the instrument could be exchanged in a current transaction between willing parties, other than in a forced or liquidation sale. The following is a description of the determination of fair value for financial instruments using valuation techniques:

Loans and advances

• The fair value on day one is the transaction price, and subsequent fair value is determined by applying market interest rates and using the valuation technique of discounted cash flows through an external valuation system.
• Non-concessional loans are classified as Level 2 and the long-term fixed-rate and variable-rate receivables are valued by the Group through an external valuation system that recognises the discounted value of future cash flows based on current market interest rate (base rate plus a credit adjusted margin) for each customer. The credit adjusted margin for each customer is determined by reference to their SCR as set forth in Note 3.1C: Loans and Advances. These SCRs are reviewed regularly throughout the year by the credit managers within the portfolio management team and any significant changes are reported quarterly to the Board.
• Concessional loans together with any loans that are identified as requiring a specific impairment allowance are classified as Level 3 as the impact on the estimated fair value of the loan arising from the concessionality or a forecast shortfall in cash flows in the case of an impaired loan has to be derived from inputs that are not necessarily based on observable market data. Concessional loans include inputs such as the likely rate of deployment of capital by co-financiers and impaired loans will include inputs such as the likely recovery amount and date of realisation in respect of any security held. Concessional long-term fixed-rate and variable-rate receivables are also valued by the Group through an external valuation system that recognises the discounted value of future cash flows based on current market interest rate (base rate plus a credit adjusted margin) for each customer. The credit adjusted margin for each customer is determined by reference to their SCR as set forth in Note 3.1: Financial Assets and these SCRs are reviewed regularly throughout the year by the credit managers within the portfolio management team and any significant changes are reported quarterly to the Board. The impact of concessionality as well as recoverable amounts related to security on impaired assets are factored into the forecasts of future cash flows for each of the transactions.
• When it is likely that a loan or debt will not be recovered in full, a specific event is recognised and recorded using the discounted cash flow method. All individual facilities are reviewed regularly.

Financial investments

• Fair value of quoted debt securities is derived from quoted market prices in active markets;
• Fair value of unquoted debt securities is derived in the same way as Loans and advances;
• Fair value of quoted equities is derived from quoted market prices in active markets; and
• Fair value of unquoted equities has been estimated in accordance with the valuation methodologies outlined in the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines.

Accounting Judgements and Estimates

Where the fair values of financial assets and financial liabilities recorded on the statement of financial position cannot be derived from active markets, they are determined using a variety of valuation techniques that include the use of mathematical models. The inputs to these models are derived from observable market data where possible; but if this is not available, judgement is required to establish fair values. The judgements include considerations of liquidity and model inputs such as discount rates, prepayment rates and default rate assumptions.

6.4: Concessional Loans

6.5: Committed Credit Facilities

Commitments represent funds committed by the Group to third parties where the funds remain available but undrawn at year end. Commitments to provide credit may convert to loans and other assets in the ordinary course of business. As these commitments may expire without being drawn upon, the notional amounts do not necessarily reflect future cash requirements.

At 30 June 2019 the Group is irrevocably committed to fund loan facilities totalling $1,014 million (2018: $797 million) and to purchase bonds totalling $52 million (2018: $Nil).

At 30 June 2019 the Group had also entered into agreements to provide loan advances totalling $80.0 million (2018: $Nil) and purchase corporate bonds totalling $50.0 million (2018: $250 million) subject to the occurrence of future uncertain events. Due to the uncertainty around the occurrence of the future events, these amounts have been excluded from Committed Credit Facilities disclosed in Note 6.2C.

At 30 June 2019 there was approximately $1.2 million (2018: $7.4 million) of possible future concessional interest rate charges to be recorded in relation to the above contingent credit facilities. The actual amount of concessionality cannot be determined until such time as the commitments become non-contingent.

6.6: Committed Equity Investments

At 30 June 2019 the Group had entered into agreements to make future equity investments totalling $865 million (2018: $355 million) including amounts disclosed in Note 3.1F.