Derivative Instruments

In October 2018, the Company entered into cross-currency swap agreements to hedge its net investment in Euro-denominated assets against future volatility in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Euro. By doing so, the Company synthetically converted a portion of its U.S. dollar-based long-term debt into Euro-denominated long-term debt. The agreements have a five year tenor at notional amounts declining from $125.0 million to $75.0 million over the contract period. Under the terms of the swap agreements, the Company is to receive net interest payments at a fixed rate of approximately 2.9% of the notional amount. At inception, the cross-currency swaps were designated as net investment hedges.

As of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, the fair value carrying amount of the Company's derivative instruments are recorded as follows (dollars in thousands):



		Asset / (Liability) Derivatives
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments	Balance Sheet Caption	March 31, 2019		December 31, 2018
Net Investment Hedges
Cross-currency swaps	Other assets	$	3,050	$	130

The following table summarizes the loss recognized in AOCI on derivative contracts designated as hedging instruments as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, and the amounts reclassified from AOCI into earnings for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018 (dollars in thousands):



	Amount of Income Recognized in AOCI on Derivative (Effective Portion, net of tax)					Amount of Income (Loss) Reclassified from AOCI into Earnings
						Three months ended March 31,
	As of March 31, 2019		As of December 31, 2018		Location of Income (Loss) Reclassified from AOCI into Earnings (Effective Portion)	2019		2018
Net Investment Hedges
Cross-currency swaps	$	3,150	$	940	Other expense, net	$	—	$	—

Over the next 12 months, the Company does not expect to reclassify any pre-tax deferred losses from AOCI into earnings.

The fair value of the Company's derivatives are estimated using an income approach based on valuation techniques to convert future amounts to a single, discounted amount. Estimates of the fair value of the Company's cross-currency swaps use observable inputs such as interest rate yield curves and forward currency exchange rates. Fair value measurements and the fair value hierarchy level for the Company's assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018 are shown below (dollars in thousands):



	Description	Frequency	Asset / (Liability)		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
March 31, 2019	Cross-currency swaps	Recurring	$	3,050	$	—	$	3,050	$	—
December 31, 2018	Cross-currency swaps	Recurring	$	130	$	—	$	130	$	—