Arbitration profit extremely unstable and conversion operations involve a risk to stay in the position outright in any link.
– Cross-operation – this is the equation of one currency to another through a third – the National, the country where the transaction or that the fairly widespread in world currency markets, through a preliminary equalization rates to the dollar.
In Russia, the cross-denominated transactions are carried out mediation when dealing with «soft» currencies.
Cross – the operation used a combination of foreign exchange purchase and sale of securities.
But the use of cross-operation is fraught with the risk of exchange rate changes between the first and second acts of the transaction. Sometimes, to avoid losses, it is necessary to involve a third or fourth transaction currency.
4.2. Forward contracts
Urgent or forward contracts are two-fold objective: profit-in the form of foreign exchange and insurance of participants against currency risks.
Emergency surgery for the sale (purchase) of foreign currency consists of the following conditions:
– The course of the transaction is recorded at the time of its conclusion;
– Transfer of currencies is carried out in 1 – 3 months (sometimes deadline is extended to one year);
– At the time of the transaction no amounts of accounts are generally not performed.
Forward exchange transaction occurred as a form of insurance for foreign trade operations. If the goods are sold on credit, the exporter seeks to preserve the value of its currency now existing rate. The importer, buying goods on credit and insuring them against the appreciation of the currency of the country of origin, may act as a buyer of the currency at a fixed time of the transaction rate.
Forward transactions are bank lenders seeking to guarantee itself against a possible depreciation of currency, which provided a loan.
Common in international practice has focus on the rate of «LIBOR» (London: Inter Bank Offered Rate) – the interest on interbank deposits in London.
Calculation of the premium (discount) to the forward rate by the following formula:
RQC – rate quoted currency;
% B – the rate on deposits in foreign currency B;
% A – the rate on deposits in foreign currency A;
PF – period forward.
The enterprise press usually puts the data on exchange rates of CIS countries and the interest rates on deposits. However, in this currency environment plays a significant role time unpredictability, non-economic conditions, foreign exchange rates on forward transactions are contractual in nature.
4.3. Deal with an option
In contrast, forward transactions with exact delivery date, united by the concept of «outright» (outright), option (a choice) does not fix the date of delivery. Distinguish between temporary options, options buyers and sellers. In all cases we are talking about the fact that one party pays the other an additional premium, but instead gets some special right. In the temporary option, for example, the right timing of currency supply. The bank sells foreign currency to the client on the forward rate «+» an extra bonus with the deadline for delivery. But the customer gets the right to demand payment at any time during a fixed period. Such an option could be very advantageous for particular variations in market exchange rates.
If the option is received (for a premium) the buyer, then as a matter of choice may be, and the right to refuse to accept the exchange of goods. Here, premium – premium plays the role of compensation. Right out of the deal for the forward period, and may belong to the seller who pays a premium to the buyer.
4.4. Transaction «swap»
Today, the transaction «swap» – is the purchase or sale of currency under a fixed exchange rate, but at the same time the conclusion of the reverse forward transaction, and payment terms are usually not the same (deal «sell-buy» in the jargon of the foreign exchange market). The swap transaction is used to cover the currency risk, as well as a possible gain in the future.
For example, somebody buys dollars for rubles a month for delivery and immediately makes a deal to sell them. Forward selling rate (is percentage price premium dollar) is the subject of the contract.
For interbank relationships swap transaction – an exchange of obligations or requirements, a form of insurance against risk, diversification, and replenish reserves.
The swap agreements between central banks are foreign currency exchange amounts (loans) to the short term, the exchange, which decays to the acts of buying foreign currency (for the target of intervention) and resell foreign currency.
Such agreements are common between the U.S. Federal Reserve and central banks of European countries. European Monetary Cooperation Fund – a prototype of the European Central Bank – interacted with the participants of the European Community based on three-month renewable constantly swap agreements.
Swap transactions are widely used in the monetary and credit transactions to profit from the difference in interest rates, in transactions with other valuables, including gold.
4.5. Interest arbitrage
In practice, often there are situations when interest rates suddenly rise or fall, and the forward market has not reacted to them. Here lurk the richest opportunities for application of interest rate arbitrage: buying the currency of a country on the spot rate and selling it for a fixed rate with an additional profit arising from the difference in percentage. An arbitrage profit is temporary – it disappears when the change in forward rate equalizes competitive conditions.
4.6. Currency futures
Futures emerged in the form of contracts for the supply of food and raw materials at an agreed price by a certain date. The contracts themselves are traded on commodity exchanges. The list of «real» content of futures extended. In Russia, the common three-month futures contracts for delivery of petroleum and petroleum products.
A futures contract is the stock market where buy and sell packages of securities (treasury bills and bonds), deposits, foreign currency. The main mass of this financial future is a three-month currency future. Exposing the financial futures market, brokers usually inform the date of the contract and payment and interest rates. The benefit will depend on the buyer to exchange rate, which is made a contract, and interest on short-term bank deposits.
4.7. Exchange risk insurance
With the expansion of foreign exchange transactions in the general instability of monetary circulation is becoming urgent need for insurance of risks relating to exchange rate fluctuations. The system of measures to reduce currency losses called «hedging» (hedging – fence).
Forwards, options, swap transactions, futures – are the natural methods of short-term hedging. It is in itself a dual role of foreign exchange operations – profit and loss insurance. Banks seek to carry out operations to undesirable exchange rate changes, explore the possibility of compensation due to parallel or pre-emptive monetary actions.
Hedging through forward transactions involved in the Russian Vnesheconombank. He established a list of hard currency, which was carried out exchange risk insurance, the warranty period, the rates of commission.
Apart from hedging operations through currency, there are methods of direct insurance risks:
– Structural balance reserves. If the bank there are open positions on a range of currencies (and without that banks and other commercial structures practically cannot live), you should carefully monitor these rates so that the anticipation of devaluation, in time to the conversion of a declining currency, as well as get rid of unreliable stock values[39].
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