10. DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

The sole objective of our use of derivative financial instruments is to minimize the risks and/or costs associated with our investments and/or financing transactions. These derivatives may or may not qualify as net investment, cash flow, or fair value hedges under the hedge accounting requirements of ASC 815 – “Derivatives and Hedging.” Derivatives not designated as hedges are not speculative and are used to manage our exposure to interest rate movements and other identified risks. For more information on the accounting for designated and non-designated hedges, refer to Note 2.

The use of derivative financial instruments involves certain risks, including the risk that the counterparties to these contractual arrangements do not perform as agreed. To mitigate this risk, we only enter into derivative financial instruments with counterparties that have appropriate credit ratings and are major financial institutions with which we and our affiliates may also have other financial relationships. We do not anticipate that any of the counterparties will fail to meet their obligations.

Net Investment Hedges of Foreign Currency Risk

Certain of our international investments expose us to fluctuations in foreign interest rates and currency exchange rates. These fluctuations may impact the value of our cash receipts and payments in terms of our functional currency, the U.S. Dollar. We use foreign currency forward contracts to protect the value or fix the amount of certain investments or cash flows in terms of the U.S. Dollar.

The following table details our outstanding foreign exchange derivatives that were designated as net investment hedges of foreign currency risk (notional amount in thousands):


December 31, 2017			December 31, 2016
Foreign Currency Derivatives	Number of Instruments	Notional Amount	Foreign Currency Derivatives	Number of Instruments	Notional Amount
Sell GBP Forward	1	£ 112,700	Sell GBP Forward	2	£ 141,900
Sell CAD Forward	1	C$ 95,100	Sell CAD Forward	2	C$ 122,900
			Sell EUR Forward	1	€ 44,900

Cash Flow Hedges of Interest Rate Risk

Certain of our financing transactions expose us to a fixed versus floating rate mismatch between our assets and liabilities. We use derivative financial instruments, which include interest rate caps and swaps, and may also include interest rate options, floors, and other interest rate derivative contracts, to hedge interest rate risk associated with our borrowings where there is potential for an index mismatch.

The following tables detail our outstanding interest rate derivatives that were designated as cash flow hedges of interest rate risk (notional amount in thousands):


December 31, 2017
Interest Rate	Number of Instruments	Notional Amount		Strike			Index	Wtd.-Avg. Maturity (Years)
Interest Rate Swaps	4	C$	108,094		1.0	%	CDOR	1.4
Interest Rate Caps	9	$	204,248		2.4	%	USD LIBOR	1.5
Interest Rate Caps	3	C$	23,370		2.0	%	CDOR	0.3



December 31, 2016
Interest Rate	Number of Instruments	Notional Amount		Strike			Index	Wtd.-Avg. Maturity (Years)
Interest Rate Swaps	4	C$	108,271		1.0	%	CDOR	2.4
Interest Rate Caps	21	$	802,256		2.0	%	USD LIBOR	0.4
Interest Rate Caps	5	C$	400,035		2.0	%	CDOR	0.4
Interest Rate Caps	1	£	15,142		2.0	%	GBP LIBOR	0.3

Amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) related to derivatives will be reclassified to interest expense as interest payments are made on our floating rate debt. During the twelve months following December 31, 2017, we estimate that an additional $619,000 will be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as an increase to interest income.

Non-designated Hedges

During the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, we recorded losses of $449,000, $1.9 million, and $698,000, respectively, related to non-designated hedges that were reported as a component of interest expense in our consolidated financial statements.

The following tables summarize our non-designated hedges (notional amount in thousands):


December 31, 2017
Non-designated Hedges	Number of Instruments	Notional Amount
Buy GBP / Sell EUR Forward	1	€	12,857

December 31, 2016
Non-designated Hedges	Number of Instruments	Notional Amount
Interest Rate Caps	3	$	256,875
Interest Rate Caps	2	C$	37,221
Buy GBP / Sell EUR Forward	1	€	12,857

Valuation of Derivative Instruments

The following table summarizes the fair value of our derivative financial instruments ($ in thousands):


	Fair Value of Derivatives in an Asset Position⁽¹⁾ as of				Fair Value of Derivatives in a Liability Position⁽²⁾ as of
	December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016		December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments:
Foreign exchange contracts	$	—	$	3,268	$	4,872	$	210
Interest rate derivatives		1,214		331		—		—

Total	$	1,214	$	3,599	$	4,872	$	210

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:
Foreign exchange contracts	$	—	$	487	$	39	$	—
Interest rate derivatives		—		—		—		—

Total	$	—	$	487	$	39	$	—

Total Derivatives	$	1,214	$	4,086	$	4,911	$	210

(1)

Included in other assets in our consolidated balance sheets.

(2)

Included in other liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets.

The following table presents the effect of our derivative financial instruments on our consolidated statements of operations ($ in thousands):


Derivatives in Hedging Relationships	Amount of (Loss) Gain Recognized in OCI on Derivatives								Location of Gain (Loss) Reclassified from			Amount of Loss Reclassified from Accumulated OCI into Income
	Year Ended December 31,								Accumulated			Year Ended December 31,
	2017			2016		2015			OCI into Income			2017			2016			2015
Net Investment Hedges
Foreign exchange contracts⁽¹⁾	$	(22,216	)	$	25,355	$	25,356			Interest Expense		$	—		$	—		$	—
Cash Flow Hedges
Interest rate derivatives		757			89		(1,474	)		Interest Expense	⁽²⁾		(831	)		(798	)		(4	)

Total	$	(21,459	)	$	25,444	$	23,882					$	(831	)	$	(798	)	$	(4	)

(1)

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we paid net cash settlements of $14.2 million on our foreign currency forward contracts. During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, we received net cash settlements of $26.8 million and $18.8 million, respectively, on our foreign currency forward contracts. Those amounts are included as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss on our consolidated balance sheets.

(2)	During the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, we recorded total interest and related expenses of $234.9 million, $184.3 million, and 152.4 million, respectively, which included interest expense of $831,000, $798,000, and $4,000, respectively, related to our cash flow hedges.

Credit-Risk Related Contingent Features

We have entered into agreements with certain of our derivative counterparties that contain provisions where if we were to default on any of our indebtedness, including default where repayment of the indebtedness has not been accelerated by the lender, we may also be declared in default on our derivative obligations. In addition, certain of our agreements with our derivative counterparties require that we post collateral to secure net liability positions. As of December 31, 2017, we were in a net asset position with one of our derivative counterparties and in a net liability position with our other derivative counterparty, and posted collateral of $4.1 million under these derivative contracts. As of December 31, 2016, we were in a net asset position with each such derivative counterparty and posted collateral of $79,000 under these derivative contracts.