Credit risk is the risk of losses because counterparties fail to meet all or part of their payment obligations towards the Group. Credit risk also includes country, dilution and settlement risk. Country risk is the risk of losses arising from economic difficulties or political unrest in a country, including the risk of losses following nationalisation, expropriation and debt restructuring. Dilution risk, which relates to purchased receivables, is the risk that the debtor may obtain a reduction of the debt through set-off, objections based on underlying legal issues or other factors. Settlement risk is the risk arising when payments are settled, for example for trades in financial instruments, including derivatives and currency transactions. The risk arises when the Group remits payments before it can ascertain that the counterparties’ payments have been received. Counterparty risk is the risk of losses resulting from a customer’s default on derivatives contracts with the Group.