Mark to Market

The practice of valuing an asset or portfolio at its current market price rather than its original purchase price or book value. Futures accounts are marked to market daily, meaning gains and losses are settled in cash at the end of each trading session. Mark-to-market accounting gained notoriety during the Enron scandal and the 2008 financial crisis, when some argued that forcing banks to mark mortgage-backed securities to their cratered market prices deepened the panic.