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[Reference Disclosure] Key Performance Figures Based on U.S. GAAP
Sony Corporation (“Sony”), the parent company of Sony Financial Holdings Inc. (“SFH”), prepares its consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). This reporting in accordance with U.S. GAAP includes the disclosure of financial information for the Sony Group’s Financial Services segment, including the Sony Financial Group. On the other hand, the Sony Financial Group, which accounts for the majority of the Sony Group’s Financial Services segment, discloses financial information in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in Japan (“Japanese GAAP”). SFH has received inquiries from its shareholders and other investors about the differences between these two accounting standards. In the insurance business, the differences between the two accounting standards are significant. These primarily derive from the differences of the accounting standards such as the liabilities for future insurance policy benefits and deferred insurance acquisition costs. Therefore, we provide supplementary information for Japanese and overseas investors to help their understanding of the Sony Financial Group’s operating performance. This document contains key financial information pertaining to the Sony Group’s Financial Services segment that Sony disclosed in accordance Please note that the supplementary information has not been audited in accordance with the Companies Act, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act or the standard of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). SFH prepares its consolidated financial results on the basis of Japanese GAAP, and we therefore ask our shareholders and other investors to refer to figures based on Japanese GAAP. Furthermore, neither SFH nor the Sony Financial Group have closed their accounts for the quarter based on Japanese GAAP, although today, SFH announced its preliminary consolidated financial results based on Japanese GAAP. : http://www.sonyfh.co.jp/web/en/news_e/article_e/140206_01.pdf Note: This release only explains operating performance on the basis of U.S. GAAP and Japanese GAAP. On February 14, 2014, we expect to release “[Reference Disclosure] Key Performance Figures Based on U.S. GAAP (Supplementary Edition),” indicating the differences between the key financial information for the Sony Group’s Financial Services segment under U.S. GAAP and the consolidated operating performance issued by the Sony Financial Group based on Japanese GAAP. SFH expects to announce its operating results for the nine months ended December 31, 2013, on February 14, 2014. (1) Performance Trends
Sony Group’s Financial Services Segment <U.S. GAAP>
<Fiscal year basis>
Operating income
Net income
Stockholders’ equity
of Financial Services*
Total assets
<Quarterly basis>
FY12-1Q FY12-2Q FY12-3Q FY12-4Q FY13-1Q FY13-2Q FY13-3Q FY13-4Q Operating income
Net income
Stockholders’ equity
of Financial Services*
Total assets
<Year-to-date basis>
FY12-1Q FY12-2Q FY12-3Q FY12-4Q FY13-1Q FY13-2Q FY13-3Q FY13-4Q Operating income
Net income
Stockholders’ equity
of Financial Services*
Total assets
Note: Figures on a quarterly basis and those on a year-to-date basis are expressed in billions of yen. However, the totals for the figure provided on a year-to-date basis may not necessarily total those on a quarterly basis. Fractional amounts of less than ¥0.1 billion are *The figure of Stockholders’ equity of Financial Services substantially corresponds to shareholders’ equity under Japanese GAAP. Sony Financial Holdings (Consolidated) <Japanese GAAP>
<Fiscal year basis>
Ordinary revenues
Ordinary profit
Net income
Shareholders’ equity
Total assets
<Quarterly basis>
FY12-1Q FY12-2Q FY12-3Q FY12-4Q FY13-1Q FY13-2Q FY13-3Q FY13-4Q Ordinary revenues
Ordinary profit
Net income
Shareholders’ equity
Total assets
<Year-to-date basis>
FY12-1Q FY12-2Q FY12-3Q FY12-4Q FY13-1Q FY13-2Q FY13-3Q FY13-4Q Ordinary revenues
Ordinary profit
Net income
Shareholders’ equity
Total assets
Note 1: Figures on a quarterly basis and those on a year-to-date basis are expressed in billions of yen. However, the totals for the figures provided on a year-to-date basis may not necessarily total those on a quarterly basis. Fractional amounts of less than ¥0.1 billion are Note 2: When reporting its quarterly operating performance, SFH discloses figures on a year-to-date basis, so the figures provided on a quarterly basis are calculated as the difference of figures provided on a year-to-date basis. SFH’s consolidated results* are prepared in accordance with Japanese GAAP. As such, these figures differ in significant respects from the financial information reported by Sony, the SFH’s parent company, which prepares its financial statements Sony Financial Group’s scope of consolidation and that of Sony Group’s Financial Services segment are described below. < Sony Financial Group’s scope of consolidation under Japanese GAAP>
*SFH’s scope of consolidation includes Sony Financial Holdings Inc., Sony Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Sony Assurance Inc., Sony Bank Inc., Sony Life Insurance (Philippines) Corporation, Sony Bank Securities Inc., and SmartLink Network, Inc. It also includes AEGON Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd. and SA Reinsurance Ltd., as affiliated companies accounted for under the equity method. Smart Link Network, Inc. was not included in the scope of consolidation for the year ended March 31, 2011, and the first quarter of the year ended March 31, 2012. Sony Bank Securities Inc. and Sony Life Insurance (Philippines) Corporation were out of the scope of consolidation from August 1, 2012 and December 6, 2012, respectively <Scope of consolidation of the Sony Group’s Financial Services segment under U.S. GAAP>
Sony Group’s Financial Services segment includes Sony Financial Holdings Inc., Sony Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Sony Assurance Inc., Sony Bank Inc., Sony Bank Securities Inc., SmartLink Network, Inc. and Sony Finance International, Inc. It also includes AEGON Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd., SA Reinsurance Ltd., and SFI Leasing Company, Limited as affiliated companies accounted for under the equity method. However, from the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, Sony Finance International, Inc., and the equity results of SFI Leasing Company, Limited, are not included in the Sony Group’s Financial Services segment. Sony Bank Securities Inc. was out of the scope of consolidation from August 1, 2012 and thereafter. Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Dept. http://www.sonyfh.co.jp/web/index_en.html Appendix:
Significant Differences between Japanese GAAP and U.S. GAAP
SFH’s consolidated results are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in Japan (“Japanese GAAP”) and provisions of the Insurance Business Act of Japan. As such, these figures differ in significant respects from the financial information reported by Sony Corporation, the SFH’s parent company, which prepares its financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”). Significant differences between Japanese (1) Standards for recognizing income from insurance premiums in the life insurance business Under U.S. GAAP, premium income on traditional insurance products is recognized as revenues during the premium-paying period. Income other than premium payments received under investment agreements or for separate agreements under universal life insurance, which are equivalent to deposits, is recognized as revenue. Under Japanese GAAP, all premiums paid by policyholders are recognized as revenues. (2) Standards for recognizing net gains from investment in the life insurance business The recognition of net gains from investment in the life insurance business, which are classified in separate accounts defined under the Insurance Business Act of Japan and which directly belong to policyholders, differs between Japanese GAAP and U.S. GAAP. Under U.S. GAAP, net gains or losses are always recorded as revenues, whereas under Japanese GAAP such figures are recognized as ordinary revenues if they are positive, and as ordinary expenses if negative. (3) Policy reserves (future insurance policy benefit, etc.) in the insurance business Since the method of calculation differs between Japanese regulations and U.S. GAAP, profits and losses during the period differ as well. Under the Insurance Business Act of Japan, insurance companies in Japan are required to accumulate a policy reserve for the fulfillment of future obligations such as payment of insurance benefits based on the accumulation method and actuarial assumptions approved by the authorities of the supervisory administrative agencies in Japan, whereas under U.S. GAAP, liabilities for future insurance policy benefits are primarily composed of the present value of estimated future payments to policyholders. Under U.S. GAAP, liabilities for future insurance policy benefits are computed based upon actuarial assumptions, such as future investment yield, mortality rates, morbidity rates, contingency rates and other factors. These assumptions are reviewed on a periodic basis. Liabilities for future insurance policy benefits also include liabilities for minimum guaranteed benefits related to certain insurance products such as variable insurance policies. With respect to liabilities for minimum guaranteed benefits, the relevant insurance policies differ between Japanese GAAP and U.S. GAAP. (4) Deferral and amortization of deferred insurance acquisition costs Under Japanese GAAP, insurance acquisition costs in the life insurance and non-life insurance businesses are charged as costs when incurred, whereas under U.S. GAAP insurance acquisition costs are deferred and amortized, in general, equally over the premium-paying period of the related insurance policies by using the same calculation basis used in computing future insurance policy benefit. The deferred insurance acquisition costs for variable insurance and other non-traditional life insurance policies are amortized over the expected life span of policies in proportion to the estimated gross profits. The estimated gross profits are reviewed in case the assumptions for calculations change materially due to significant fluctuations in the stock market and other factors. Under U.S. GAAP, insurance acquisition costs include such items as commissions and medical examination and inspection report fees that directly relate to the costs of acquiring new insurance policies and renewing policies, as long as they are Pursuant to provisions of the Insurance Business Act of Japan, to ensure the fulfillment of future obligations, insurance companies in Japan are required to accumulate a contingency reserve to account for the risk of insurance payment events occurring at a higher-than-expected rate due to higher-than-expected mortality and morbidity rates (insurance risks), the risk of actual investment yields being lower than the assumed investment yields relating to outstanding policies (assumed interest rate risk), the risk of actual investment results being lower than the amount guaranteed relating to the minimum guaranteed portion of variable life insurance or variable annuities (minimum guarantee risks) and other risks. The Insurance Business Act of Japan establishes an accumulation standard and a maximum amount of reserve for each risk. The contingency reserve can be reversed in regards to each risk. Contingency reserve is recorded as a component of policy reserve on the balance sheet. Under U.S. GAAP, there is no requirement for the provision of such a legal reserve. Pursuant to the provisions of the Insurance Business Act of Japan, non-life insurance companies in Japan are required to accumulate an amount based on premium income to cover losses due to catastrophic events. The catastrophe reserve acts as a provision against risks to which the law of large numbers is not applicable on a single-year basis, in consideration of the special characteristics of the non-life insurance business to cover a wide range of risks including disasters. The catastrophe reserve is reversed in fiscal years in which a catastrophe occurs. Furthermore, the catastrophe reserve is accounted for as a part of underwriting reserves on the balance sheet. There is no requirement for the accumulation of such a legal reserve under U.S. Pursuant to provisions of the Insurance Business Act of Japan, insurance companies in Japan are required to accumulate a reserve to cover losses due to price fluctuations in assets subject to market price volatility, particularly investments in stocks, bonds and foreign currency-denominated investments. The Insurance Business Act of Japan establishes the accumulation standard and a maximum amount of reserve for each asset. The reserve for price fluctuations may be reversed to reduce losses arising from price fluctuations of those assets. Under U.S. GAAP, there is no requirement for the provision of such a legal reserve. The majority of the Sony Financial Group’s operations in the banking business involve transactions denominated in foreign currencies. Under Japanese GAAP, transactions involving assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are in principal translated to yen at the exchange rate prevailing on the date of the settlement of accounts, and any translation adjustments are recorded in the statements of income as foreign exchange gains or losses. For that reason, in the banking business, translation adjustments on those investments coming from foreign currency deposits (liabilities) are offset partially in the statements of income by ones from investments in available-for-sale bonds denominated in foreign currency (assets) for the purpose of covering those foreign currency deposits. However, under U.S. GAAP, although translation adjustments on foreign currency deposits (liabilities) are recorded in the statements of income, translation adjustments on available-for-sale bonds denominated in foreign currency (assets) are posted directly to net assets in accordance with fluctuations in the fair market value of securities held, and are therefore not recorded in the statements of income until maturity or sale. As such, under U.S. GAAP, asset-side translation adjustments and liability-side translation adjustments are recorded differently. Therefore, foreign exchange gains or losses resulting from liability-side exchange rate fluctuations have a larger impact on net income under U.S. GAAP than is the (9) Accounting treatment of compound financial instruments (financial instruments including derivatives) When accounting for compound financial instruments under U.S. GAAP, if such financial instruments are valued together, they are marked to market together regardless of the category in which they are held, and valuation gains or losses are recorded in the income statements. However, under Japanese GAAP the method for valuing these instruments differs depending on the category in which they are held. Consequently, the amounts of valuation gains or losses, gains or losses on sale, and impairment losses differ depending on whether U.S. GAAP or Japanese GAAP is applied.

Source: http://www.sonyfh.co.jp/web/en/financial_info_e/results_e/sfh_fy2013_3q_02.pdf