Hedging in the time of COVID-19

The impact of the COVID-19 shutdown is rippling across the economy, touching virtually every industry and entity. Hedging relationships are also affected. In this environment, changes in the timing or amount of hedged transactions may be needed. For example, a company may need to cancel or delay planned purchases or sales of nonfinancial items due to factory shutdowns, unavailability of employees, or customer cancellations. Certain companies may need to cancel, delay, or accelerate previously expected issuances of debt due to market conditions. Uncertainty caused by volatile markets and economic conditions may make it difficult for a company to predict the timing or terms of a forecasted transaction. These changes could impact both fair value hedges and cash flow hedges, although the financial statement impact will vary depending on the nature of the hedging relationship.