Published: 01.01.2013 Updated: 18.07.2023

Financial instruments linked to a specified financial instrument or indicator or commodity, through which specific financial risks can be traded in financial markets in their own right. Financial derivatives meet the following conditions: they are linked to a financial or non-financial asset, to a group of assets, or to an index; they are either negotiable or can be offset on the market; and no principal amount is advanced to be repaid. For example: Options, Forwards, Swaps, Forward rate agreements (FRAs), credit derivatives.
The definition of the concept is consistent with Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union and Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (6th edition) of the International Monetary Fund.