Consolidated Financial Statements Notes 27. Financial instruments 
27. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
VALUATION OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
Fair value of financial instruments
The following table presents the carrying amounts and fair values of the Group’s financial instruments
as of December 31.
| in million € |
Carrying amount |
2007 Fair value |
Carrying amount |
2006 Fair value |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents |
361 | 361 | 261 | 261 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assets recognized at carrying amount |
2.167 | 2.167 | 2.096 | 2.096 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liabilities recognized at carrying amount |
6.147 | 6.118 | 6.299 | 6.384 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Derivatives |
-16 | -16 | 39 | 39 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Derivatives were recognized at gross values as other current assets in an amount of € 18 million and other liabilities in an amount of € 34 million.
Estimation of fair values of financial instruments
The significant methods and assumptions used to estimate the fair values of financial instruments are as follows:
Cash and cash equivalents are stated at nominal value which equals the fair value.
Short-term financial instruments like accounts receivable and payable and short-term borrowings are valued at their carrying amounts, which are reasonable estimates of the fair value due to the relatively short period to maturity of these instruments.
The fair values of senior notes and trust preferred securities are based on market prices and quotes as of the balance sheet date. The fair values of other fixed-rate financial liabilities, for which market quotes are not available, are calculated as present value of the respective future cash flows. To determine these present values, the prevailing interest rates and credit spreads for the Fresenius Group as of the balance sheet date are used.
The fair values of financial liabilities with floating interest rates approximate their carrying amounts as the interest rates for these liabilities are predominantly updated every three months with interest rates reflecting actual market conditions at the time of update.
