2023 Texas Statutes › Insurance Code › Title 4 - Regulation of Solvency › Subtitle B - Reserves and Investments › Chapter 424 - Investments for Certain Insurers › Subchapter E. Risk Control Transactions › Section 424.201. Definitions

Sec. 424.201.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
(1)  "Acceptable collateral" means:
(A)  cash;
(B)  cash equivalents;
(C)  letters of credit and direct obligations; or
(D)  securities that are fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States.
(2)  "Business entity" includes an association, bank, corporation, joint stock company, joint tenancy, joint venture, limited liability company, mutual fund, partnership, sole proprietorship, trust, or other similar form of business organization, regardless of whether organized for profit.
(3)  "Cap" means an agreement obligating the seller to make payments to the buyer, with each payment based on the amount by which a reference price or level or the performance or value of one or more underlying interests exceeds a predetermined number that is sometimes called the strike rate or strike price.
(4)  "Cash equivalent" means an investment or security that is short-term, highly rated, highly liquid, and readily marketable.  The term includes a money market fund described by Section 424.106.  For purposes of this subdivision, an investment or security is:
(A)  short-term if it has a remaining term to maturity of one year or less; and
(B)  highly rated if it has:
(i)  a rating of "P-1" by Moody's Investors Service, Inc.;
(ii)  a rating of "A-1" by the Standard and Poor's Division of the McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.; or
(iii)  an equivalent rating by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization recognized by the securities valuation office.
(5)  "Collar" means an agreement to receive payments as the buyer of a cap, floor, or option and to make payments as the seller of a different cap, floor, or option.
(6)(A)  "Counterparty exposure amount" means:
(i)  for an over-the-counter derivative instrument not entered into under a written master agreement that provides for netting of payments owed by the respective parties, the market value of the over-the-counter derivative instrument, if the liquidation of the derivative instrument would result in a final cash payment to the insurer, or zero, if the liquidation of the derivative instrument would not result in a final cash payment to the insurer; or
(ii)  for an over-the-counter derivative instrument entered into under a written master agreement that provides for netting of payments owed by the respective parties and for which the counterparty's domiciliary jurisdiction is within the United States or a foreign jurisdiction listed in the Purposes and Procedures Manual of the securities valuation office as eligible for netting, the greater of zero or the net sum payable to the insurer in connection with all derivative instruments subject to the written master agreement on the liquidation of the instruments in the event of the counterparty's default under the master agreement, if there is no condition precedent to the counterparty's obligation to make the payment and if there is no setoff of amounts payable under another instrument or agreement.
(B)  For purposes of this subdivision, market value or the net sum payable, as applicable, must be determined at the end of the most recent quarter of the insurer's fiscal year and must be reduced by the market value of acceptable collateral held by the insurer or a custodian on the insurer's behalf.
(7)  "Derivative instrument":
(A)  means an agreement, option, or instrument, or a series or combination of agreements, options, or instruments:
(i)  to make or take delivery of, or assume or relinquish, a specified amount of one or more underlying interests, or to make a cash settlement instead of making or taking delivery of, or assuming or relinquishing, a specified amount of an underlying interest; or
(ii)  that has a price, performance, value, or cash flow based primarily on the actual or expected price, yield, level, performance, value, or cash flow of one or more underlying interests;
(B)  includes an option, a warrant not otherwise permitted to be held by the insurer under this subchapter, a cap, a floor, a collar, a swap, a swaption, a forward, a future, any other substantially similar agreement, option, or instrument, and a series or combination of those agreements, options, or instruments; and
(C)  does not include a collateralized mortgage obligation, another asset-backed security, a principal-protected structured security, a floating rate security, an instrument that an insurer would otherwise be authorized to invest in or receive under a provision of this subchapter other than this subdivision, or a debt obligation of the insurer.
(8)  "Derivative transaction" means a transaction involving the use of one or more derivative instruments.  The term does not include a dollar roll transaction, repurchase transaction, reverse repurchase transaction, or securities lending transaction.
(9)  "Floor" means an agreement obligating the seller to make payments to the buyer, each of which is based on the amount by which a predetermined number that is sometimes called the floor price or floor rate exceeds a reference level, performance, price, or value of one or more underlying interests.
(10)  "Forward" means an agreement to make or take delivery in the future of one or more underlying interests, or to effect a cash settlement, based on the actual or expected level, performance, price, or value of those interests.  The term does not include a future or a spot transaction effected within a customary settlement period, a when-issued purchase, or another similar cash market transaction.
(11)  "Future" means an agreement traded on a futures exchange to make or take delivery of one or more underlying interests, or to effect a cash settlement, based on the actual or expected level, performance, price, or value of those interests.
(12)  "Futures exchange" means a foreign or domestic exchange, contract market, or board of trade on which trading in futures is conducted and that, in the United States, is authorized to conduct that trading by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or a successor to that agency.
(13)  "Hedging transaction" means a derivative transaction entered into and maintained to manage, with respect to an asset, liability, or portfolio of assets or liabilities, that an insurer has acquired or incurred or anticipates acquiring or incurring:
(A)  the risk of a change in value, yield, price, cash flow, or quantity; or
(B)  the currency exchange rate risk.
(14)  "Income generation transaction" means a derivative transaction entered into to generate income.  The term does not include a hedging transaction or a replication transaction.
(15)  "Market value" means the price for a security or derivative instrument obtained from a generally recognized source, the most recent quotation from a generally recognized source, or if a generally recognized source does not exist, the price determined under the terms of the instrument or in good faith by the insurer, as can be reasonably demonstrated to the commissioner on request, plus the amount of accrued but unpaid income on the security or instrument to the extent that amount is not included in the price as of the date the security or instrument is valued.
(16)  "Option" means an agreement giving the buyer the right to buy or receive, referred to as a "call option," to sell or deliver, referred to as a "put option," to enter into, extend, or terminate, or to effect a cash settlement based on the actual or expected level, performance, price, spread, or value of, one or more underlying interests.
(17)  "Over-the-counter derivative instrument" means a derivative instrument entered into with a business entity in a manner other than through a securities exchange or futures exchange or cleared through a qualified clearinghouse.
(18)  "Potential exposure" means:
(A)  as to a futures position, the amount of initial margin required for that position; or
(B)  as to a swap, collar, or forward, one-half of one percent multiplied by the notional amount multiplied by the square root of the remaining years to maturity.
(19)  "Qualified clearinghouse" means a clearinghouse that:
(A)  is subject to the rules of a securities exchange or a futures exchange; and
(B)  provides clearing services, including acting as a counterparty to each of the parties to a transaction in a manner that eliminates the parties' credit risk to each other.
(20)  "Replication transaction" means a derivative transaction or a combination of derivative transactions effected separately or in conjunction with cash market investments included in the insurer's investment portfolio to replicate the risks and returns of another authorized transaction, investment, or instrument or to operate as a substitute for cash market transactions.  The term does not include a hedging transaction.
(21)  "Securities exchange" means:
(A)  an exchange registered as a national securities exchange or a securities market registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. Section 78a et seq.), as amended;
(B)  the Private Offerings, Resales and Trading through Automated Linkages system; or
(C)  a designated offshore securities market as defined by 17 C.F.R. Section 230.902, as amended.
(22)  "Swap" means an agreement to exchange or to net payments at one or more times based on the actual or expected price, yield, level, performance, or value of one or more underlying interests.
(23)  "Swaption" means an option to purchase or sell a swap at a given price and time or at a series of prices and times.  The term does not include a swap with an embedded option.
(24)  "Underlying interest" means an asset, liability, or other interest underlying a derivative instrument or a combination of those assets, liabilities, or interests.  The term includes a security, currency, rate, index, commodity, or derivative instrument.
(25)  "Warrant" means an instrument under which the holder has the right to purchase or sell the underlying interest at a given price and time or at a series of prices and times stated in the warrant.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 727 (H.B. 2017), Sec. 1, eff. April 1, 2007.