Exchange Dealings When the foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities are held, by the banks or the business concern, two types of risks are faced. Firstly, the risk that the exchange rates may vary and the change may affect the cash flows/profits. This is known as exchange risk. Secondly, the interest rate may vary and it may affect the cost of holding the foreign currency assets and liabilities. This is known as interest rate risk. The present section discusses exchange risk management by banks. Dealing Position Foreign exchange is such a sensitive commodity and subject to wide fluctuations in price that the bank which deals in it would like to keep the balance always near zero, The bank would endeavor to find a suitable buyer wherever it purchase so as to dispose of the foreign exchange acquired and be free from exchange risk. Likewise, whenever it sells it tries to Continue reading
Forex Trading
Futures Contract
Future contracts allow the price risk to be separated from the reliability risk by removing the former from the set of factors giving rise to opportunism. The governance structure supplied by the exchange authority effectively eliminates reliability risk from future trading. The seller of futures contracts incurs a liability not to the buyer, but to the clearing house, and likewise the buyer acquires an asset from the clearing house. The clearing house in effect guarantees all transactions. In addition, the exchange rules, especially regarding its members’ contract, severely limit their ability to behave opportunistically. Organized exchanges greatly reduce default and reliability risk from future contracts. This is achieved by transferring transactions over price risks from a personal to an impersonal market through standard form futures contracts traded in self-regulated market price. Future contracts are standard form contracts with only one negotiable term: price. The standardization of future contracts has significant Continue reading
Interest Rate Parity (IRP) Theory of Exchange Rate
When Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Theory applies to product markets, Interest Rate Parity (IRP) condition applies to financial markets. Interest Rate Parity (IRP) theory postulates that the forward rate differential in the exchange rate of two currencies would equal the interest rate differential between the two countries. Thus it holds that the forward premium or discount for one currency relative to another should be equal to the ratio of nominal interest rate on securities of equal risk (and duration) denominated in two currencies. For example, where the interest rate in India and US are respectively 10% and 6% and the dollar-rupees spot exchange rate is Rs.42.50/US $. The 90 day forward exchange rate would be calculated as per IRP as follows: = 42.50 (1+0.10/4)/(1+0.06/4) = Rs.42.9250 And hence, the forward rate differential [forward premium (p)] will be; (42.9250 — 42.50)/42.50 = 1% And the interest rate differential will be; Continue reading