The Capital Account component in Balance of Payments (BoP)

Capital account records public and private investment, and lending activities. It is the net change in foreign ownership of domestic assets. If foreign ownership of domestic assets has increased more quickly than domestic ownership of foreign assets in a given year, then the domestic country has a capital account surplus. On the other hand, if domestic ownership of foreign assets has increased more quickly than foreign ownership of domestic assets in a given year, then the domestic country has a capital account deficit. It is known as “financial account”. IMF manual lists out a large number of items under the capital account. But India, and many other countries, has merged the accounting classification to fit into its own institutional structure and analytical needs. Until the end of the 1980s, key sectors listed out under the capital account were: (i) private capital, (ii) banking capital, and (iii) official capital. Private capital Continue reading

Mortgage Loan – Meaning, Types and Approval Factors

Mortgage loan is a loan secured use to finance by real property. It is usually used with specified payment periods and interest rates according to the agreement of the mortgage loan made between the two parties. Mortgage loan also can know as amortized loan. Under legal agreement, the mortgagor (borrower) gives the mortgagee (lender) a lien on the real estate as collateral for the loan. However, the home loan and mortgage are often used interchangeably. So, the mortgage is really an agreement that makes the home loan work- the commercial bank would not lend you some hundreds of thousands of money unless they knew they could claim your home in the event of your default. Generally, the word mortgage is most commonly used to mean mortgage loan. Besides that, a mortgagor can obtain the financing to buy or secure against the property from a financial institution for instance, a bank, Continue reading

Comparison Between Merit Based Regulation and Disclosure Based Regulation

There are two basic models of regulatory system which is the supervision framework for securities market which is a merit based regulation and disclosure based regulation. These regulation systems are important to provide adequate investor protection and regulate business practices or codes of conduct that reduce systemic risks.  Merit Based Regulation (MBR) A securities regulator is needed, which control all matters relating to securities and to take all reasonable measures to preserve the confidence of investors in the securities market by ensuring sufficient security for such investors. The securities regulator has the discretion to approve the proposals with such revisions and subject to such terms and conditions as it deems fit. The securities regulator also has the power to reject corporate proposals if it is reasonably satisfied that these proposals are not in the best interest of the public company and/or the investing public. Authorities regulate securities offering – Under the Continue reading

Currency Arbitrage – Definition and Examples

Arbitrage traditionally has been defined as the purchase of assets or commodities on one market for immediate resale on another in order to profit from a price discrepancy. In recent years however arbitrage has been used to describe a broader range of activities. The concept of arbitrage is of particular importance in International finance because so many of the relationships between domestic and international financial markets, exchange rates, interest rates and inflation rates depend on arbitrage for their existence. In fact it is the process of arbitrage that ensures market efficiency. The purchase of currencies on one market for immediate resale on another in order to profit from the exchange rate differential is known as currency arbitrage. If perfect conditions prevail in the market, the exchange rate for a currency should be the same in all centers. Until recently, the pervasive practice among bank dealers was to quote all currencies Continue reading

Components of International Financial Environment

International financial  environment is totally different from domestic financial environment. International financial management is subject to several external forces, like  foreign exchange market, currency convertibility, international monitory system,  balance of payments, and international financial markets. 1. Foreign Exchange Market Foreign exchange market is the market in which money denominated in one  currency is bought and sold with money denominated in another currency. It is an overthe  counter market, because there is no single physical or electronic market place or an  organized exchange with a central trade clearing mechanism where traders meet and  exchange currencies. It spans the globe, with prices moving and currencies trading  somewhere every hour of every business day. World’s major trading starts each morning  in Sydney and Tokyo, and ends up in the San Francisco and Los-Angeles. The foreign exchange market consists of two tiers: the inter bank market  or wholesale market, and retail market or client Continue reading

Types of Foreign Bonds

Yankee Bonds Yankee Bonds are US dollar denominated issues by foreign  borrowers (usually foreign governments or entities,  supranationals and highly rated corporate borrowers) in  the US bond markets. Yankee bond has certain peculiar  features associated with the US domestic market. SEC  regulates the international bond issues and requires  complete disclosure documents in detail than the  prospectus used in Eurobond issues. Foreign borrower will have to adopt the US accounting practices and the  US credit rating agencies will have to provide rating for  these bonds. These bonds are sponsored by a US  domestic underwriting syndicate and require SEBI (Securities  and Exchange Board of India) registration prior to selling them in  the domestic US market. Reliance Industries Ltd. has  been the most successful corporate to tap this instrument  with a 50-year, $50 million Yankee Bond issue. Samurai Bonds These are bonds issued by non-Japanese  borrowers in the domestic Japanese markets. Borrowers  are Continue reading