Buyer’s Credit Buyer’s Credits are a form of Eurocurrency loans designed to finance a specific transaction involving import of goods and services. Under this arrangement, lending bank(s) pay the exporter on presentation of shipping documents. The importer works out a deferred payment arrangement with the lending bank, which the bank treats as a loan. Large loans are club loans or syndicated loans. Many provisions in the loan agreement are quite similar to a general purpose syndicated credit. However, a number of formalities have to be completed before the exporter can draw funds. The interest rate of the loan is linked to a market index such as LIBOR. In some cases, a state Export Credit Agency from the exporter’s country may pay a subsidy to the banks so that an attractive funding cost can be offered to the importer. Another aspect is the Line of Credit. Lines of Credit are like Continue reading
International Finance
International finance is the branch of economics that studies the dynamics of foreign exchange,foreign direct investment and how these affect international trade. Also studies the international projects, international investment and the international capital flow .International Finance can be broadly defined, as the study of the financial decisions taken by a multinational corporation in the area of international business i.e. global corporate finance. International finance draws much of its background from the preliminary studies in the topics of corporate finance such as capital budgeting, portfolio theory and cost of capital but now viewed in the international dimension.
The Bretton Woods System – Background, Design and Reasons for Collapse
Since the beginning of the 19th century, globalization, international trade and free trade between countries became the new economic order and several attempts have been made since then to develop policies and schemes to ensure the stability of the international monetary system. It is safe to say that in truth, the world economy has never been in a state of utopia, but nevertheless, we have never stopped trying to attain such. The Bretton Woods era of 1944 to 1977, one of the few fairly successful schemes the world powers created in trying to achieve economic utopia, though existed for a short period, has been accredited as being one of the most successful international monetary systems, so impressive was the economic stability and growth of the era that there have been ongoing talks for a comeback of the system. Background of the Bretton Woods System At the end of the World Continue reading
Foreign Exchange Risk Management Tools for Exchange Rate and Interest Rate Fluctuations
A firm may be able to reduce or eliminate currency exposure by means of internal and external hedging strategies. Internal Hedging Strategies 1. Invoicing A firm may be able to shift the entire risk to another party by invoicing its exports in its home currency and insisting that its imports too be invoiced in its home currency, but in the presence of well functioning forwards markets this will not yield any added benefit compared to a forward hedge. At times, it may diminish the firm’s competitive advantage if it refuses to invoice its cross-border sales in the buyer’s currency. In the following cases invoicing is used as a means of hedging: Trade between developed countries in manufactured products is generally invoiced in the exporter’s currency. Trade in primary products and capital assets are generally invoiced in a major vehicle currency such as the US dollar. Trade between a developed and Continue reading
Detailed Information about Bretton Woods Exchange Rate System and The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
Bretton Woods Exchange Rate System (1944) In 1944, as World War II drew toward a close, the Allied Powers met at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in order to create a new post-war international monetary system. The Bretton Woods Agreement, implemented in 1946, whereby each member government pledged to maintain a fixed, or pegged, exchange rate for its currency vis-Ã -vis the dollar or gold. These fixed exchange rates were supposed to reduce the riskiness of international transactions, thus promoting growth in world trade. The Bretton Woods Agreement established a US dollar-based international monetary system and provide for two new institutions, The IMF and the World Bank. The IMF aids countries with balance of payments and exchange rate problems. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) helped post-war reconstruction and since then has supported general economic development. The IMF was the key institution in the new international monetary system, and Continue reading
Influence of Interest Rate on Exchange Rates
Traditional macroeconomic exchange-rate models are based on fundamental analyses. In these models, the basic force that drives currency’s rate comes from the balance between supply and demand of currency, for example if the demand for the U.S. dollar exceeds its supply at the current exchange-rate against the euro the price of US dollar in terms of the euro will rise. Conversely, if supply exceeds demand, the price will fall. Demand and supply factors that govern currency’s rate’s become much more complex than that because people don’t use currencies just to purchase foreign goods and services, but also for activities like cross-border investment and speculation. This opens up many other variables that must be considered when addressing exchange-rate movements, as underscored in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s commentary cited previously. One of the most important factors, for example, is how investors ride interest-rate differentials between countries. We know that Continue reading
Syndicated Euro Credits
History of Syndicated Euro Credits Syndicated Euro Credits are in existence since the late 1960s. The first syndicate was organized by Bankers Trust in an effort to arrange a large credit for Austria. During the early seventies, Euromarkets saw the demand for Euro credits increasing from non-traditional and hitherto untested borrowers. The period after first oil crisis was marked by a boom phase. To cope with the increasing demand for funds, lenders expanded their business without undertaking due credit appraisal of their clients or the countries thus financed. Further, the European banks had short-term deposits while bulk of borrowers required long-term deposits. These landings were at fixed rates thus exposing these banks to interest rate risks. The banks evolved the concept of lending funds for medium longterm i.e. 7-15 years on a variable interest rate basis linked to the Interbank Rate (LIBOR). Revision of rates would take place every 3-6 Continue reading