What Is Netting? Definition, Types & Examples

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Netting offsets the total amount of various positions or payments that must be made to two or more parties.
• Netting is utilized in a variety of contexts and situations, including inter-company transactions, insolvency, and dealing in stocks or currencies.
• Multilateral netting, which can involve more than two parties, typically involves a central exchange or clearinghouse.

What Is Netting?

Netting is the process of offsetting the value of multiple positions or payments that are due to be exchanged between two or more parties. It’s essentially combining all of the payments that are owed between a number of parties into one net payment. It tends to be used in derivative transactions in order to reduce risk. 

What Is Netting Used For?

One of the main benefits of netting is reducing the transaction costs and the amount of time needed to settle a number of different transactions. It can also help to reduce credit, liquidity, and settlement risk. 

Netting is commonly used in trading. It allows an investor to offset a position in one security with another position. These positions could either be in the same security or a separate one. A trader would use netting with the hopes of offsetting losses in one position with positive gains in another. 

Another benefit of netting is when a company files for bankruptcy, especially in cases where the separate parties are owed a balance to each other. So, for example, a company may offset any money they owe the defaulting company with the money that is owed to them. Then the remainder is the total amount owed which can be used in bankruptcy proceedings. 

In banking, netting limits the number of foreign exchange transactions when banks transfer across borders. This is because the number of flows decreases. 

The 4 Types of Netting

Netting is used in a variety of different ways. We’ll take a closer look at the 4 most common types of netting used.

Settlement Netting

Settlement netting takes an average of the amount that is due among separate parties. It then nets the cash flows from separate payments into one single payment. Therefore, only the net difference in the aggregate amounts that both parties owe each other is considered. In most cases, a payment netting agreement has to be in place before the actual date of the settlement. Otherwise, each of the separate payments would be due to and from all of the parties that are involved. 

Close-Out Netting

Close-out netting occurs after default has happened. This is when a party doesn’t succeed in making principal and interest payments. The transactions between the two parties are then netted so that they can arrive at a single amount. This is the amount that one party then has to pay the other. In close-out netting, they terminate the existing financial contracts and then an aggregate terminal value is calculated and paid as a single lump sum. 

Multilateral Netting

Otherwise known as bilateral netting. This is a type of netting that involves more than two parties. For multilateral netting, a central exchange or a clearinghouse is often used. It can also occur within a single company that has multiple subsidiaries. If a number of subsidiaries owe payments to each other for differing amounts, then they can send their payment to a central entity. This is known as a central corporate entity or a netting center. The central entity would then net the invoices and make the payments to the parties owed. 

Novation Netting

Novation netting is the form of netting involved when it comes to canceling out offsetting swaps and then replacing them with a new set of obligations. Essentially, if two separate companies owe each other an obligation on the same value date, then the net amount is calculated. Then instead of sending the net difference to the owed party, novation netting cancels the contracts. New contracts are then booked for the net or aggregate amounts. Novation netting is clearly different from payment netting, as this doesn’t create a new contract. Instead, the net aggregate amount is exchanged.

Advantages of Netting

By removing the need to conduct numerous transactions each month and consolidating them into a single payment, netting helps businesses save a significant amount of time and money. As the volume of flows declines, it restricts the volume of cross-border currency transactions for banks.

Netting in foreign exchange enables businesses or banks to combine several currencies and foreign currency transactions into larger trades, resulting in better pricing. Businesses can plan their cash flows more precisely when time frames are more structured and settlements more predictable.

Disadvantages of Netting

Despite the many advantages that come from netting, it does have some disadvantages. Some of the more prominent disadvantages include: 

• Netting aids in the management of foreign currency rates, but it doesn’t alter them.
• Tax liabilities that businesses face for their transactions aren’t reduced by netting. 
• The risk of a single invoice could go unnoticed since risk is spread out throughout the course of a whole netting transaction.
• Some bilateral netting payment schemes can be against local legislation.
• Netting can necessitate a sizable financial outflow at the end of the month.

An Example of Netting

Say Company 1 and Company 2 enter into a swap agreement on a particular security. Both of these companies owe money to each other. At the end of the value date, the following would be due:

• Company 1 is due to receive $10,000 from Company 2.
• Company 2 is due to receive $2,500 from Company 1.
• Instead of Company 1 paying Company 2 $10,000 and Company 1 giving Company 2 $2,500, the payments would be netted. 
• So Company 2 would pay Company 1 $7,500. And Company 1 would pay $0. 

Summary

The netting process is a useful tool. The objective of netting is to reduce the time and costs of payments. By netting the payments, a single invoice can be created instead of multiple third-party invoices. It is a popular process that is used across financial markets and can be seen as a common-sense practice, but it doesn’t necessarily work for every occasion. 

Written by Jami Gong, MPAcc, CPA

Jami Gong is a Chartered Professional Account and Financial System Consultant. She holds a Masters Degree in Professional Accounting from the University of New South Wales. Her areas of expertise include accounting system and enterprise resource planning implementations, as well as accounting business process improvement and workflow design. Jami has collaborated with clients large and small in the technology, financial, and post-secondary fields.

Written by Jami Gong, MPAcc, CPA

Jami Gong is a Chartered Professional Account and Financial System Consultant. She holds a Masters Degree in Professional Accounting from the University of New South Wales. Her areas of expertise include accounting system and enterprise resource planning implementations, as well as accounting business process improvement and workflow design. Jami has collaborated with clients large and small in the technology, financial, and post-secondary fields.