STI 2018 Annual Report

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, continued 149 NOTE 20 - FAIR VALUE ELECTION AND MEASUREMENT The Companymeasures certain assets and liabilities at fair value, which are classified as level 1, 2, or 3 within the fair value hierarchy, as shown below, on the basis of whether the measurement employs observable or unobservable inputs. Observable inputs reflectmarket data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect the Company’s own assumptions, taking into account information about market participant assumptions that is readily available. • Level 1: Quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets • Level 2: Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and model-derived valuations in which all significant inputs and significant value drivers are observable in active markets • Level 3: Valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset, or paid to transfer a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The Company’s recurring fair value measurements are based on either a requirement to measure such assets and liabilities at fair value or on the Company’s election to measure certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value. Assets and liabilities that are required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis include trading securities, derivative instruments, securities AFS, and certain other equity securities. Assets and liabilities that the Company has elected tomeasure at fair value on a recurring basis include trading loans, certainLHFS andLHFI, residentialMSRs, brokered time deposits, and certain structured notes and fixed rate issuances included in long-term debt. The Company elects to measure certain assets and liabilities at fair value to better align its financial performance with the economic value of actively traded or hedged assets or liabilities. The use of fair value also enables the Company to mitigate non- economic earnings volatility caused from financial assets and liabilities being measured using different bases of accounting, as well as to more accurately portray the active and dynamic management of the Company’s balance sheet. The Company uses various valuation techniques and assumptions in estimating fair value. The assumptions used to estimate the value of an instrument have varying degrees of impact to the overall fair value of an asset or liability. This process involves gathering multiple sources of information, including broker quotes, values provided by pricing services, trading activity in other identical or similar securities, market indices, and pricing matrices. When observable market prices for the asset or liability are not available, the Company employs various modeling techniques, such as discounted cash flow analyses, to estimate fair value. Models used to produce material financial reporting information are validated prior to use and following any material change in methodology. Their performance is monitored at least quarterly, and any material deterioration in model performance is escalated. The Company has formal processes and controls in place to support the appropriateness of its fair value estimates. For fair values obtained from a third party, or those that include certain trader estimates of fair value, there is an independent price validation function that provides oversight for these estimates. For level 2 instruments and certain level 3 instruments, the validation generally involves evaluating pricing received from two or more third party pricing sources that are widely used by market participants. The Company evaluates this pricing information from both a qualitative and quantitative perspective and determines whether any pricing differences exceed acceptable thresholds. If thresholds are exceeded, the Company assesses differences in valuation approaches used, which may include contacting a pricing service to gain further insight into the valuation of a particular security or class of securities to resolve the pricing variance, which could include an adjustment to the price used for financial reporting purposes. The Company classifies instruments within level 2 in the fair value hierarchy when it determines that external pricing sources estimated fair value using prices for similar instruments trading in active markets. A wide range of quoted values from pricing sources may imply a reduced level of market activity and indicate that significant adjustments to price indications have been made. In such cases, the Company evaluates whether the asset or liability should be classified as level 3. Determining whether to classify an instrument as level 3 involves judgment and is based on a variety of subjective factors, including whether a market is inactive. A market is considered inactive if significant decreases in the volume and level of activity for the asset or liability have been observed.