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Exchange Rate Concepts
Exchange rates express how much one currency can be exchanged for another.
Spot rate refers to the rate for immediate transactions, usually settled within two business days.
Banks create a spread by buying at lower rates and selling at higher rates to earn profits.
Direct and indirect quotes represent exchange rates in terms of domestic versus foreign currency.
Exchange Rate Theories
Purchasing Power Parity Theory (PPPT) states that exchange rates adjust based on relative inflation rates.
Interest Rate Parity Theory (IRPT) links exchange rates with the difference in interest rates between two countries.
International Fisher Effect argues that exchange rate movements are driven by differences in nominal interest rates.
Financial Risk Management
Involves identifying risk exposure, quantifying it, deciding whether to hedge, and monitoring hedging strategies.
Benefits of hedging: Provides certainty, reduces risk, and assists in budgeting.
Arguments against hedging: Can be costly, complex, and may not align with shareholder interests.
Internal Hedging Techniques
Invoicing in home currency shifts risk to suppliers/customers but may not remove economic risk.
Leading and lagging payments adjust payment timing to leverage exchange rate movements.
Matching & netting use foreign receipts/payments to offset currency exposures.
Pooling consolidates multiple bank accounts to improve cash management.
Countertrade swaps goods/services directly to avoid currency exchange.
External Hedging Techniques
Forward exchange contracts lock in exchange rates for future transactions.
Money market hedging uses interest rates and deposits to offset currency fluctuations.
Currency futures are standardized contracts traded on exchanges.
Options provide the right but not obligation to buy/sell currency at a fixed rate.
Swaps exchange currency amounts and interest rate commitments to hedge long-term exposure.