Carrying Amounts and Fair Value of Financial Instruments: Fair Vaue of Financial Instruments Policy (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Policies

Fair Vaue of Financial Instruments Policy

Accounting guidance emphasizes that fair value is a market-based measurement, not an entity-specific measurement. Therefore, a fair value measurement should be determined based on the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. As a basis for considering market participant assumptions in fair value measurements, the guidance establishes a fair value hierarchy that distinguishes between market participant assumptions based on market data obtained from sources independent of the reporting entity (observable inputs that are classified within Levels 1 and 2 of the hierarchy) and the reporting entity’s own assumptions about market participant assumptions (unobservable inputs classified within Level 3 of the hierarchy).

Level 1	Valuation is based upon quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access. Level 1 assets and liabilities include debt and equity securities and derivative contracts that are traded in an active exchange market, as well as U.S. Treasuries and money market funds.
Level 2	Valuation is based upon quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, as well as inputs that are observable for the asset or liability (other than quoted prices), such as interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and yield curves that are observable at commonly quoted intervals. Level 2 assets and liabilities include debt securities with quoted prices that are traded less frequently than exchange-traded instruments, mortgage-backed securities, municipal bonds, corporate debt securities and derivative contracts whose value is determined using a pricing model with inputs that are observable in the market or can be derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data. This category generally includes certain derivative contracts and impaired loans.
Level 3	Valuation is generated from model-based techniques that use at least one significant assumption based on unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, which are typically based on an entity’s own assumptions, as there is little, if any, related market activity. In instances where the determination of the fair value measurement is based on inputs from different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the level in the fair value hierarchy within which the entire fair value measurement falls is based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the asset or liability.