Derivative Financial Instruments and Off-balance sheet Financial Instruments

The Company uses derivatives for risk reduction and to increase investment portfolio returns through asset replication. Risk reduction activity is focused on managing the risks with certain assets and liabilities arising from the potential adverse impacts from changes in risk-free interest rates, changes in equity market valuations, increases in credit spreads and foreign currency fluctuations.

Property-Liability may use interest rate swaps, swaptions, futures and options to manage the interest rate risks of existing investments. These instruments are utilized to change the duration of the portfolio in order to offset the economic effect that interest rates would otherwise have on the fair value of its fixed income securities. Credit default swaps are typically used to mitigate the credit risk within the Property-Liability fixed income portfolio. Equity index futures and options are used by Property-Liability to offset valuation losses in the equity portfolio during periods of declining equity market values. In addition, equity futures are used to hedge the market risk related to deferred compensation liability contracts. Forward contracts are primarily used by Property-Liability to hedge foreign currency risk associated with holding foreign currency denominated investments and foreign operations.

Allstate Financial utilizes several derivative strategies to manage risk. Asset-liability management is a risk management strategy that is principally employed by Allstate Financial to balance the respective interest-rate sensitivities of its assets and liabilities. Depending upon the attributes of the assets acquired and liabilities issued, derivative instruments such as interest rate swaps, caps, swaptions and futures are utilized to change the interest rate characteristics of existing assets and liabilities to ensure the relationship is maintained within specified ranges and to reduce exposure to rising or falling interest rates. Credit default swaps are typically used to mitigate the credit risk within the Allstate Financial fixed income portfolio. Financial futures and interest rate swaps are used to hedge anticipated asset purchases and liability issuances and futures and options for hedging the equity exposure contained in Allstate Financial’s equity indexed life and annuity product contracts that offer equity returns to contractholders. In addition, Allstate Financial uses equity index futures to offset valuation losses in the equity portfolio during periods of declining equity market values. Interest rate swaps are used to hedge interest rate risk inherent in funding agreements. Foreign currency swaps and forwards are primarily used by Allstate Financial to reduce the foreign currency risk associated with holding foreign currency denominated investments.

The Company may also use derivatives to manage the risk associated with corporate actions, including the sale of a business. During 2014 and December 2013, swaptions were utilized to hedge the expected proceeds from the disposition of LBL.

Asset replication refers to the “synthetic” creation of assets through the use of derivatives. The Company replicates fixed income securities using a combination of a credit default swap or a foreign currency forward contract and one or more highly rated fixed income securities, primarily investment grade host bonds, to synthetically replicate the economic characteristics of one or more cash market securities. The Company replicates equity securities using futures to increase equity exposure.

The Company also has derivatives embedded in non-derivative host contracts that are required to be separated from the host contracts and accounted for at fair value with changes in fair value of embedded derivatives reported in net income. The Company’s primary embedded derivatives are equity options in life and annuity product contracts, which provide equity returns to contractholders; conversion options in fixed income securities, which provide the Company with the right to convert the instrument into a predetermined number of shares of common stock; credit default swaps in synthetic collateralized debt obligations, which provide enhanced coupon rates as a result of selling credit protection; and equity-indexed notes containing equity call options, which provide a coupon payout that is determined using one or more equity-based indices.

When derivatives meet specific criteria, they may be designated as accounting hedges and accounted for as fair value, cash flow, foreign currency fair value or foreign currency cash flow hedges. Allstate Financial designates certain of its interest rate and foreign currency swap contracts and certain investment risk transfer reinsurance agreements as fair value hedges when the hedging instrument is highly effective in offsetting the risk of changes in the fair value of the hedged item. Allstate Financial designates certain of its foreign currency swap contracts as cash flow hedges when the hedging instrument is highly effective in offsetting the exposure of variations in cash flows for the hedged risk that could affect net income. Amounts are reclassified to net investment income or realized capital gains and losses as the hedged item affects net income.

The notional amounts specified in the contracts are used to calculate the exchange of contractual payments under the agreements and are generally not representative of the potential for gain or loss on these agreements. However, the notional amounts specified in credit default swaps where the Company has sold credit protection represent the maximum amount of potential loss, assuming no recoveries.

Fair value, which is equal to the carrying value, is the estimated amount that the Company would receive or pay to terminate the derivative contracts at the reporting date. The carrying value amounts for OTC derivatives are further adjusted for the effects, if any, of enforceable master netting agreements and are presented on a net basis, by counterparty agreement, in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. For certain exchange traded and cleared derivatives, margin deposits are required as well as daily cash settlements of margin accounts. As of December 31, 2015, the Company pledged $20 million of cash in the form of margin deposits.

For those derivatives which qualify for fair value hedge accounting, net income includes the changes in the fair value of both the derivative instrument and the hedged risk, and therefore reflects any hedging ineffectiveness. For cash flow hedges, gains and losses are amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income and are reported in net income in the same period the forecasted transactions being hedged impact net income.

Non-hedge accounting is generally used for “portfolio” level hedging strategies where the terms of the individual hedged items do not meet the strict homogeneity requirements to permit the application of hedge accounting. For non-hedge derivatives, net income includes changes in fair value and accrued periodic settlements, when applicable. With the exception of non-hedge derivatives used for asset replication and non-hedge embedded derivatives, all of the Company’s derivatives are evaluated for their ongoing effectiveness as either accounting hedge or non-hedge derivative financial instruments on at least a quarterly basis.

The following table provides a summary of the volume and fair value positions of derivative instruments as well as their reporting location in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 2015.



($ in millions, except number of contracts)		Volume ⁽¹⁾
	Balance sheet location	Notional amount		Number of contracts	Fair value, net			Gross asset		Gross liability
Asset derivatives
Derivatives designated as accounting hedging instruments
Foreign currency swap agreements	Other investments	$	45	n/a	$	6		$	6	$	—
Derivatives not designated as accounting hedging instruments
Interest rate contracts
Interest rate cap agreements	Other investments	42		n/a	—			—		—
Equity and index contracts
Options and warrants ⁽²⁾	Other investments	—		3,730	44			44		—
Financial futures contracts	Other assets	—		1,897	2			2		—
Foreign currency contracts
Foreign currency forwards	Other investments	185		n/a	1			2		(1		)
Embedded derivative financial instruments
Other embedded derivative financial instruments	Other investments	1,000		n/a	—			—		—
Credit default contracts
Credit default swaps — buying protection	Other investments	112		n/a	4			5		(1		)
Credit default swaps — selling protection	Other investments	150		n/a	2			2		—
Other contracts
Other contracts	Other investments	31		n/a	1			1		—
Other contracts	Other assets	3		n/a	1			1		—
Subtotal		1,523		5,627	55			57		(2		)
Total asset derivatives		$	1,568	5,627	$	61		$	63	$	(2	)

Liability derivatives
Derivatives designated as accounting hedging instruments
Foreign currency swap agreements	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	$	19	n/a	$	4		$	4	$	—
Derivatives not designated as accounting hedging instruments
Interest rate contracts
Interest rate swap agreements	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	85		n/a	—			—		—
Interest rate cap agreements	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	72		n/a	1			1		—
Equity and index contracts
Options and futures	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	—		4,406	(7		)	—		(7		)
Foreign currency contracts
Foreign currency forwards	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	361		n/a	(12		)	1		(13		)
Embedded derivative financial instruments
Guaranteed accumulation benefits	Contractholder funds	481		n/a	(38		)	—		(38		)
Guaranteed withdrawal benefits	Contractholder funds	332		n/a	(14		)	—		(14		)
Equity-indexed and forward starting options in life and annuity product contracts	Contractholder funds	1,781		n/a	(247		)	—		(247		)
Other embedded derivative financial instruments	Contractholder funds	85		n/a	—			—		—
Credit default contracts
Credit default swaps — buying protection	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	88		n/a	(2		)	—		(2		)
Credit default swaps — selling protection	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	105		n/a	(8		)	—		(8		)
Subtotal		3,390		4,406	(327		)	2		(329		)
Total liability derivatives		3,409		4,406	(323		)	$	6	$	(329	)
Total derivatives		$	4,977	10,033	$	(262	)

______________________________


⁽¹⁾	Volume for OTC derivative contracts is represented by their notional amounts. Volume for exchange traded derivatives is represented by the number of contracts, which is the basis on which they are traded. (n/a = not applicable)


⁽²⁾	In addition to the number of contracts presented in the table, the Company held 220 stock rights and warrants. Stock rights and warrants can be converted to cash upon sale of those instruments or exercised for shares of common stock.



($ in millions, except number of contracts)		Volume ⁽¹⁾
	Balance sheet location	Notional amount		Number of contracts	Fair value, net			Gross asset		Gross liability
Asset derivatives
Derivatives designated as accounting hedging instruments
Foreign currency swap agreements	Other investments	$	85	n/a	$	3		$	3	$	—
Derivatives not designated as accounting hedging instruments
Interest rate contracts
Interest rate cap agreements	Other investments	163		n/a	2			2		—
Equity and index contracts
Options and warrants ⁽²⁾	Other investments	—		3,225	83			83		—
Financial futures contracts	Other assets	—		2,204	2			2		—
Foreign currency contracts
Foreign currency forwards	Other investments	471		n/a	(15		)	1		(16		)
Embedded derivative financial instruments
Other embedded derivative financial instruments	Other investments	1,000		n/a	—			—		—
Credit default contracts
Credit default swaps — buying protection	Other investments	29		n/a	—			—		—
Credit default swaps — selling protection	Other investments	100		n/a	2			2		—
Other contracts
Other contracts	Other assets	3		n/a	1			1		—
Subtotal		1,766		5,429	75			91		(16		)
Total asset derivatives		$	1,851	5,429	$	78		$	94	$	(16	)

Liability derivatives
Derivatives designated as accounting hedging instruments
Foreign currency swap agreements	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	$	50	n/a	$	(1	)	$	—	$	(1	)
Derivatives not designated as accounting hedging instruments
Interest rate contracts
Interest rate swap agreements	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	85		n/a	1			1		—
Interest rate cap agreements	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	11		n/a	—			—		—
Financial futures contracts	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	—		700	—			—		—
Equity and index contracts
Options	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	—		3,960	(23		)	—		(23		)
Foreign currency contracts
Foreign currency forwards	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	228		n/a	(1		)	2		(3		)
Embedded derivative financial instruments
Guaranteed accumulation benefits	Contractholder funds	615		n/a	(32		)	—		(32		)
Guaranteed withdrawal benefits	Contractholder funds	425		n/a	(13		)	—		(13		)
Equity-indexed and forward starting options in life and annuity product contracts	Contractholder funds	1,786		n/a	(278		)	—		(278		)
Other embedded derivative financial instruments	Contractholder funds	85		n/a	—			—		—
Credit default contracts
Credit default swaps — buying protection	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	420		n/a	(6		)	1		(7		)
Credit default swaps — selling protection	Other liabilities & accrued expenses	205		n/a	(8		)	2		(10		)
Subtotal		3,860		4,660	(360		)	6		(366		)
Total liability derivatives		3,910		4,660	(361		)	$	6	$	(367	)
Total derivatives		$	5,761	10,089	$	(283	)

______________________________


⁽¹⁾	Volume for OTC derivative contracts is represented by their notional amounts. Volume for exchange traded derivatives is represented by the number of contracts, which is the basis on which they are traded. (n/a = not applicable)


⁽²⁾	In addition to the number of contracts presented in the table, the Company held 220 stock rights and warrants. Stock rights and warrants can be converted to cash upon sale of those instruments or exercised for shares of common stock.

The following table provides gross and net amounts for the Company’s OTC derivatives, all of which are subject to enforceable master netting agreements.



($ in millions)				Offsets
	Gross amount			Counter- party netting			Cash collateral (received) pledged			Net amount on balance sheet			Securities collateral (received) pledged			Net amount
December 31, 2015
Asset derivatives	$	21		$	(8	)	$	(5	)	$	8		$	(4	)	$	4
Liability derivatives	(25		)	8			(1		)	(18		)	9			(9		)
December 31, 2014
Asset derivatives	$	12		$	(22	)	$	17		$	7		$	(4	)	$	3
Liability derivatives	(35		)	22			—			(13		)	8			(5		)

The following table provides a summary of the impacts of the Company’s foreign currency contracts in cash flow hedging relationships for the years ended December 31. Amortization of net gains from accumulated other comprehensive income related to cash flow hedges is expected to be a gain of $3 million during the next twelve months. There was no hedge ineffectiveness reported in realized gains and losses in 2015, 2014 or 2013.



($ in millions)	2015			2014			2013
Gain recognized in OCI on derivatives during the period	$	10		$	12		$	3
Gain (loss) recognized in OCI on derivatives during the term of the hedging relationship	6			(2		)	(18		)
Loss reclassified from AOCI into income (net investment income)	(1		)	(2		)	(1		)
Gain (loss) reclassified from AOCI into income (realized capital gains and losses)	3			(2		)	—

The following tables present gains and losses from valuation and settlements reported on derivatives not designated as accounting hedging instruments in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. In 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company had no derivatives used in fair value hedging relationships.



($ in millions)
	Realized capital gains and losses			Life and annuity contract benefits			Interest credited to contractholder funds			Operating costs and expenses			Loss on disposition of operations			Total gain (loss) recognized in net income on derivatives
2015
Interest rate contracts	$	1		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	1
Equity and index contracts	1			—			(9		)	(1		)	—			(9		)
Embedded derivative financial instruments	—			(7		)	31			—			—			24
Foreign currency contracts	(24		)	—			—			(8		)	—			(32		)
Credit default contracts	(2		)	—			—			—			—			(2		)
Other contracts	—			—			—			—			—			—
Total	$	(24	)	$	(7	)	$	22		$	(9	)	$	—		$	(18	)

2014
Interest rate contracts	$	(10	)	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	(4	)	$	(14	)
Equity and index contracts	(18		)	—			38			9			—			29
Embedded derivative financial instruments	—			15			(14		)	—			—			1
Foreign currency contracts	(9		)	—			—			(8		)	—			(17		)
Credit default contracts	1			—			—			—			—			1
Other contracts	—			—			(2		)	—			—			(2		)
Total	$	(36	)	$	15		$	22		$	1		$	(4	)	$	(2	)

2013
Interest rate contracts	$	4		$	—		$	—		$	—		$	(6	)	$	(2	)
Equity and index contracts	(12		)	—			94			34			—			116
Embedded derivative financial instruments	(1		)	74			(75		)	—			—			(2		)
Foreign currency contracts	(9		)	—			—			7			—			(2		)
Credit default contracts	8			—			—			—			—			8
Other contracts	—			—			(3		)	—			—			(3		)
Total	$	(10	)	$	74		$	16		$	41		$	(6	)	$	115

The Company manages its exposure to credit risk by utilizing highly rated counterparties, establishing risk control limits, executing legally enforceable master netting agreements (“MNAs”) and obtaining collateral where appropriate. The Company uses MNAs for OTC derivative transactions that permit either party to net payments due for transactions and collateral is either pledged or obtained when certain predetermined exposure limits are exceeded. As of December 31, 2015, counterparties pledged $14 million in cash and securities to the Company, and the Company pledged $13 million in cash and securities to counterparties which includes $13 million of collateral posted under MNAs for contracts containing credit-risk-contingent provisions that are in a liability position. The Company has not incurred any losses on derivative financial instruments due to counterparty nonperformance. Other derivatives, including futures and certain option contracts, are traded on organized exchanges which require margin deposits and guarantee the execution of trades, thereby mitigating any potential credit risk.

Counterparty credit exposure represents the Company’s potential loss if all of the counterparties concurrently fail to perform under the contractual terms of the contracts and all collateral, if any, becomes worthless. This exposure is measured by the fair value of OTC derivative contracts with a positive fair value at the reporting date reduced by the effect, if any, of legally enforceable master netting agreements.

The following table summarizes the counterparty credit exposure as of December 31 by counterparty credit rating as it relates to the Company’s OTC derivatives.



($ in millions)	2015							2014
Rating ⁽¹⁾	Number of counter-parties	Notional amount ⁽²⁾		Credit exposure ⁽²⁾		Exposure, net of collateral ⁽²⁾		Number of counter-parties	Notional amount ⁽²⁾		Credit exposure ⁽²⁾		Exposure, net of collateral ⁽²⁾
A+	1	$	82	$	5	$	—	1	$	164	$	2	$	1
A	5	375		9		6		3	118		3		2
A–	1	41		3		—		1	8		—		—
BBB+	2	49		—		1		1	11		—		—
BBB	—	—		—		—		1	52		—		—
Total	9	$	547	$	17	$	7	7	$	353	$	5	$	3

______________________________


⁽¹⁾	Rating is the lower of S&P or Moody’s ratings.


⁽²⁾	Only OTC derivatives with a net positive fair value are included for each counterparty.

Market risk is the risk that the Company will incur losses due to adverse changes in market rates and prices. Market risk exists for all of the derivative financial instruments the Company currently holds, as these instruments may become less valuable due to adverse changes in market conditions. To limit this risk, the Company’s senior management has established risk control limits. In addition, changes in fair value of the derivative financial instruments that the Company uses for risk management purposes are generally offset by the change in the fair value or cash flows of the hedged risk component of the related assets, liabilities or forecasted transactions.

Certain of the Company’s derivative instruments contain credit-risk-contingent termination events, cross-default provisions and credit support annex agreements. Credit-risk-contingent termination events allow the counterparties to terminate the derivative agreement or a specific trade on certain dates if AIC’s, ALIC’s or Allstate Life Insurance Company of New York’s (“ALNY”) financial strength credit ratings by Moody’s or S&P fall below a certain level. Credit-risk-contingent cross-default provisions allow the counterparties to terminate the derivative agreement if the Company defaults by pre-determined threshold amounts on certain debt instruments. Credit-risk-contingent credit support annex agreements specify the amount of collateral the Company must post to counterparties based on AIC’s, ALIC’s or ALNY’s financial strength credit ratings by Moody’s or S&P, or in the event AIC, ALIC or ALNY are no longer rated by either Moody’s or S&P.

The following summarizes the fair value of derivative instruments with termination, cross-default or collateral credit-risk-contingent features that are in a liability position as of December 31, as well as the fair value of assets and collateral that are netted against the liability in accordance with provisions within legally enforceable MNAs.



($ in millions)	2015			2014
Gross liability fair value of contracts containing credit-risk-contingent features	$	21		$	16
Gross asset fair value of contracts containing credit-risk-contingent features and subject to MNAs	(3		)	(4		)
Collateral posted under MNAs for contracts containing credit-risk-contingent features	(13		)	(7		)
Maximum amount of additional exposure for contracts with credit-risk-contingent features if all features were triggered concurrently	$	5		$	5

Credit derivatives – selling protection

Free-standing credit default swaps (“CDS”) are utilized for selling credit protection against a specified credit event. A credit default swap is a derivative instrument, representing an agreement between two parties to exchange the credit risk of a specified entity (or a group of entities), or an index based on the credit risk of a group of entities (all commonly referred to as the “reference entity” or a portfolio of “reference entities”), in return for a periodic premium. In selling protection, CDS are used to replicate fixed income securities and to complement the cash market when credit exposure to certain issuers is not available or when the derivative alternative is less expensive than the cash market alternative. CDS typically have a five-year term.

The following table shows the CDS notional amounts by credit rating and fair value of protection sold.



($ in millions)	Notional amount
	AA		A		BBB		BB and lower		Total		Fair value
December 31, 2015
Single name
Corporate debt	$	20	$	10	$	45	$	—	$	75	$	1
First-to-default Basket
Municipal	—		—		100		—		100		(8		)
Index
Corporate debt	1		20		52		7		80		1
Total	$	21	$	30	$	197	$	7	$	255	$	(6	)
December 31, 2014
Single name
Corporate debt	$	20	$	15	$	90	$	—	$	125	$	1
First-to-default Basket
Municipal	—		100		—		—		100		(9		)
Index
Corporate debt	—		22		52		6		80		2
Total	$	20	$	137	$	142	$	6	$	305	$	(6	)

In selling protection with CDS, the Company sells credit protection on an identified single name, a basket of names in a first-to-default (“FTD”) structure or credit derivative index (“CDX”) that is generally investment grade, and in return receives periodic premiums through expiration or termination of the agreement. With single name CDS, this premium or credit spread generally corresponds to the difference between the yield on the reference entity’s public fixed maturity cash instruments and swap rates at the time the agreement is executed. With a FTD basket, because of the additional credit risk inherent in a basket of named reference entities, the premium generally corresponds to a high proportion of the sum of the credit spreads of the names in the basket and the correlation between the names. CDX is utilized to take a position on multiple (generally 125) reference entities. Credit events are typically defined as bankruptcy, failure to pay, or restructuring, depending on the nature of the reference entities. If a credit event occurs, the Company settles with the counterparty, either through physical settlement or cash settlement. In a physical settlement, a reference asset is delivered by the buyer of protection to the Company, in exchange for cash payment at par, whereas in a cash settlement, the Company pays the difference between par and the prescribed value of the reference asset. When a credit event occurs in a single name or FTD basket (for FTD, the first credit event occurring for any one name in the basket), the contract terminates at the time of settlement. For CDX, the reference entity’s name incurring the credit event is removed from the index while the contract continues until expiration. The maximum payout on a CDS is the contract notional amount. A physical settlement may afford the Company with recovery rights as the new owner of the asset.

The Company monitors risk associated with credit derivatives through individual name credit limits at both a credit derivative and a combined cash instrument/credit derivative level. The ratings of individual names for which protection has been sold are also monitored.

Off-balance sheet financial instruments

The contractual amounts of off-balance sheet financial instruments as of December 31 are as follows:



($ in millions)	2015		2014
Commitments to invest in limited partnership interests	$	2,551	$	2,429
Commitments to extend mortgage loans	—		49
Private placement commitments	89		98
Municipal bond forward commitments	36		—
Other loan commitments	46		46

In the preceding table, the contractual amounts represent the amount at risk if the contract is fully drawn upon, the counterparty defaults and the value of any underlying security becomes worthless. Unless noted otherwise, the Company does not require collateral or other security to support off-balance sheet financial instruments with credit risk.

Commitments to invest in limited partnership interests represent agreements to acquire new or additional participation in certain limited partnership investments. The Company enters into these agreements in the normal course of business. Because the investments in limited partnerships are not actively traded, it is not practical to estimate the fair value of these commitments.

Commitments to extend mortgage loans are agreements to lend to a borrower provided there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. The Company enters into these agreements to commit to future loan fundings at a predetermined interest rate. Commitments generally have fixed expiration dates or other termination clauses.

Private placement commitments represent conditional commitments to purchase private placement debt and equity securities at a specified future date. The Company enters into these agreements in the normal course of business. The fair value of these commitments generally cannot be estimated on the date the commitment is made as the terms and conditions of the underlying private placement securities are not yet final.

Municipal bond forward commitments represent purchases of newly issued debt securities with a settlement period in excess of a standard period of generally 30-60 days. The Company enters into these agreements in the normal course of business. The fair value of these commitments, which is valued based on unadjusted quoted prices less contractual amounts, is $1 million as of December 31, 2015 and is reported as a derivative financial instrument.

Other loan commitments are agreements to lend to a borrower provided there is no violation of any condition established in the contract. The Company enters into these agreements to commit to future loan fundings at predetermined interest rates. Commitments generally have varying expiration dates or other termination clauses. The fair value of these commitments is insignificant.