An Introduction to Capital Structure Why Capital Structure Matters To Your Investments By Joshua Kennon, About.com Guide .

See More About:balance sheetfinancial ratiosdebt to equity Ads Hedge Fund Attorneys Hedge fund losses? Contingent Fee Representation. (800) 382-7969www.SecuritiesArbitration.com

Wine investment Avoid the pitfalls; learn what to buy and when to sell www.antique-wine.com

Classic Philately Basler Taube und andere Raritten Basle Dove and other rarities www.ghonegger.ch Investing for Beginners Ads Equity Capital Capital Investors Money Investing Stock Market Investment Capital Management Ads Short Courses at Duke Project Appraisal & Risk Mangement classes begin May 14 - Apply Now! www.sanford.duke.edu

Alm Bank Misys Global #1 for Risk Management The Future of Banking. Delivered www.misys.com/banking/ You often hear corporate officers, professional investors, and analysts discuss a company's capital structure. You may not know what a capital structure is or why you should even concern yourself with it, but the concept is extremely important because it can influence not only the return a company earns for its shareholders, but whether or not a firm survives in a recession or depression. Sit back, relax, and prepare to learn everything you ever wanted to know about your investments and the capital structure of the companies in your portfolio!

Capital Structure - What It Is and Why It Matters The term capital structure refers to the percentage of capital (money) at work in a business by type. Broadly speaking, there are two forms of capital: equity capital and debt capital. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks and a substantial part of wise corporate stewardship and management is attempting to find the perfect capital structure in terms of risk / reward payoff for shareholders. This is true for Fortune 500 companies and for small business owners trying to determine how much of their startup money should come from a bank loan without endangering the business. Let's look at each in detail:

Equity Capital: This refers to money put up and owned by the shareholders (owners). Typically, equity capital consists of two types: 1.) contributed capital, which is the money that was originally invested in the business in exchange for shares of stock or ownership and 2.) retained earnings, which represents profits from past years that have been kept by the company and used to strengthen the balance sheet or fund growth, acquisitions, or expansion. Many consider equity capital to be the most expensive type of capital a company can utilize because its "cost" is the return the firm must earn to attract investment. A speculative mining company that is looking for silver in a remote region of Africa may require a much higher return on equity to get investors to purchase the stock than a firm such as Procter & Gamble, which sells everything from toothpaste and shampoo to detergent and beauty products.

Debt Capital: The debt capital in a company's capital structure refers to borrowed money that is at work in the business. The safest type is generally considered long-term bonds because the company has years, if not decades, to come up with the principal, while paying interest only in the meantime. Other types of debt capital can include short-term commercial paper utilized by giants such as Wal-Mart and General Electric that amount to billions of dollars in 24-hour loans from the capital markets to meet day-to-day working capital requirements such as payroll and utility bills. The cost of debt capital in the capital structure depends on the health of the company's balance sheet - a triple AAA rated firm is going to be able to borrow at extremely low rates versus a speculative company with tons of debt, which may have to pay 15% or more in exchange for debt capital.

Other Forms of Capital: There are actually other forms of capital, such as vendor financing where a company can sell goods before they have to pay the bill to the vendor, that can drastically increase return on equity but don't cost the company anything. This was one of the secrets to Sam Walton's success at Wal-Mart. He was often able to sell Tide detergent before having to pay the bill to Procter & Gamble, in effect, using PG's money to grow his retailer. In the case of an insurance company, the policyholder "float" represents money that doesn't belong to the firm but that it gets to use and earn an investment on until it has to pay it out for accidents or medical bills, in the case of an auto insurer. The cost of other forms of capital in the capital structure varies greatly on a case-by-case basis and often comes down to the talent and discipline of managers.

Seeking the Optimal Capital Structure Many middle class individuals believe that the goal in life is to be debt-free (see Should I Pay Off My Debt Or Invest?). When you reach the upper echelons of finance, however, that idea is almost anathema. Many of the most successful companies in the world base their capital structure on one simple consideration: the cost of capital. If you can borrow money at 7% for 30 years in a world of 3% inflation and reinvest it in core operations at 15%, you would be wise to consider at least 40% to 50% in debt capital in your overall capital structure. Of course, how much debt you take on comes down to how secure the revenues your business generates are - if you sell an indispensable product that people simply must have, the debt will be much lower risk than if you operate a theme park in a tourist town at the height of a boom market. Again, this is where managerial talent, experience, and wisdom comes into play. The great managers have a knack for consistently lowering their weighted average cost of capital by increasing productivity, seeking out higher return products, and more.

To truly understand the idea of capital structure, you need to take a few moments to read Return on Equity: The DuPont Model to understand how the capital structure represents one of the three components in determining the rate of return a company will earn on the money its owners have invested in it. Whether you own a doughnut shop or are considering investing in publicly traded stocks, it's knowledge you simply must have.

Definition of 'Cost Of Funds'

The interest rate paid by financial institutions for the funds that they deploy in their business. The cost of funds is one of the most important input costs for a financial institution, since a lower cost will generate better returns when the funds are deployed in the form of short-term and long-term loans to borrowers. The spread between the cost of funds and the interest rate charged to borrowers represents one of the main sources of profit for most financial institutions.

Investopedia explains 'Cost Of Funds'

For lenders such as banks and credit unions, cost of funds is determined by the interest rate paid to depositors on financial products including savings accounts and time deposits. Although the term cost of funds usually refers to financial institutions, most corporations that rely on borrowing are impacted by the costs they must incur to gain access to capital. Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/costoffunds.asp#ixzz1oGTdZFez

Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context.[1][2][3] The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past, a standard of deferred payment.[4][5] Any kind of object or secure verifiable record that fulfills these functions can serve as money. Money originated as commodity money, but nearly all contemporary money systems are based on fiat money.[4] Fiat money is without intrinsic use value as a physical commodity, and derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender; that is, it must be accepted as a form of payment within the boundaries of the country, for "all debts, public and private". The money supply of a country consists of currency (banknotes and coins) and bank money (the balance held in checking accounts and savings accounts). Bank money usually forms by far the largest part of the money supply. [6][7][8]

History
Main article: History of money

The use of barter-like methods may date back to at least 100,000 years ago, though there is no evidence of a society or economy that relied primarily on barter.[9] Instead, non-monetary societies operated largely along the principles of gift economics and debt.[10][11] When barter did in fact occur, it was usually between either complete strangers or potential enemies.[12] Many cultures around the world eventually developed the use of commodity money. The shekel was originally a unit of weight, and referred to a specific weight of barley, which was used as currency.[13] The first usage of the term came from Mesopotamia circa 3000 BC. Societies in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia used shell money often, the shells of the money cowry (Cypraea moneta L. or C. annulus L.). According to Herodotus, the Lydians were the first people to introduce the use of gold and silver coins.[14] It is thought by modern scholars that these first stamped coins were minted around 650600 BC.[15] The system of commodity money eventually evolved into a system of representative money.[citation needed] This occurred because gold and silver merchants or banks would issue receipts to their depositors redeemable for the commodity money deposited. Eventually, these receipts became generally accepted as a means of payment and were used as money. Paper money or banknotes were first used in China during the Song Dynasty. These banknotes, known as "jiaozi", evolved from promissory notes that had been used since the 7th century. However, they did not displace commodity money, and were used alongside coins. Banknotes were first issued in Europe by Stockholms Banco in 1661, and were again also used alongside coins. The gold standard, a monetary system where the medium of exchange are paper notes that are convertible into pre-set, fixed quantities of gold, replaced the use of gold coins as currency in the 17th-19th centuries in Europe. These gold standard notes were made legal tender, and redemption into gold coins was discouraged. By the beginning of the 20th century almost all countries had adopted the gold standard, backing their legal tender notes with fixed amounts of gold. After World War II, at the Bretton Woods Conference, most countries adopted fiat currencies that were fixed to the US dollar. The US dollar was in turn fixed to gold. In 1971 the US government suspended the convertibility of the US dollar to gold. After this many countries depegged their currencies from the US dollar, and most of the world's currencies became unbacked by anything except the governments' fiat of legal tender and the ability to convert the money into goods via payment.
Etymology

The word "money" is believed to originate from a temple of Hera, located on Capitoline, one of Rome's seven hills. In the ancient world Hera was often associated with money. The temple of Juno Moneta at Rome was the place where the mint of Ancient Rome was located.[16] The name "Juno" may derive from the Etruscan goddess Uni (which means "the one", "unique", "unit", "union", "united") and "Moneta" either from the Latin word "monere" (remind, warn, or instruct) or the Greek word "moneres" (alone, unique).

In the Western world, a prevalent term for coin-money has been specie, stemming from Latin in specie, meaning 'in kind'.[17]

Functions
In the past, money was generally considered to have the following four main functions, which are summed up in a rhyme found in older economics textbooks: "Money is a matter of functions four, a medium, a measure, a standard, a store." That is, money functions as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a standard of deferred payment, and a store of value.[5] However, modern textbooks now list only three functions, that of medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value, not considering a standard of deferred payment as a distinguished function, but rather subsuming it in the others.[4][18][19] There have been many historical disputes regarding the combination of money's functions, some arguing that they need more separation and that a single unit is insufficient to deal with them all. One of these arguments is that the role of money as a medium of exchange is in conflict with its role as a store of value: its role as a store of value requires holding it without spending, whereas its role as a medium of exchange requires it to circulate.[5] Others argue that storing of value is just deferral of the exchange, but does not diminish the fact that money is a medium of exchange that can be transported both across space and time.[20] The term 'financial capital' is a more general and inclusive term for all liquid instruments, whether or not they are a uniformly recognized tender.
Medium of exchange Main article: Medium of exchange

When money is used to intermediate the exchange of goods and services, it is performing a function as a medium of exchange. It thereby avoids the inefficiencies of a barter system, such as the 'double coincidence of wants' problem.
Unit of account Main article: Unit of account

A unit of account is a standard numerical unit of measurement of the market value of goods, services, and other transactions. Also known as a "measure" or "standard" of relative worth and deferred payment, a unit of account is a necessary prerequisite for the formulation of commercial agreements that involve debt. To function as a 'unit of account', whatever is being used as money must be:

Divisible into smaller units without loss of value; precious metals can be coined from bars, or melted down into bars again. Fungible: that is, one unit or piece must be perceived as equivalent to any other, which is why diamonds, works of art or real estate are not suitable as money. A specific weight, or measure, or size to be verifiably countable. For instance, coins are often milled with a reeded edge, so that any removal of material from the coin (lowering its commodity value) will be easy to detect.

Store of value Main article: Store of value

To act as a store of value, a money must be able to be reliably saved, stored, and retrieved and be predictably usable as a medium of exchange when it is retrieved. The value of the money must also remain stable over time. Some have argued that inflation, by reducing the value of money, diminishes the ability of the money to function as a store of value.[4]
Standard of deferred payment Main article: Standard of deferred payment

While standard of deferred payment is distinguished by some texts,[5] particularly older ones, other texts subsume this under other functions.[4][18][19] A "standard of deferred payment" is an accepted way to settle a debt a unit in which debts are denominated, and the status of money as legal tender, in those jurisdictions which have this concept, states that it may function for the discharge of debts. When debts are denominated in money, the real value of debts may change due to inflation and deflation, and for sovereign and international debts via debasement and devaluation.
Measure of Value

Money, essentially acts as a standard measure and common denomination of trade. it is thus a basis for quoting and bargaining of prices. It has significantly in developing efficient accounting systems. But the most important usage is that it provides a method to compare the values of dissimilar objects.

Money supply
Main article: Money supply

In economics, money is a broad term that refers to any financial instrument that can fulfill the functions of money (detailed above). These financial instruments together are collectively referred to as the money supply of an economy. In other words, the money supply is the amount of financial instruments within a specific economy available for purchasing goods or services. Since the money supply consists of various financial instruments (usually currency, demand deposits and various other types of deposits), the amount of money in an economy is measured by adding together these financial instruments creating a monetary aggregate. Modern monetary theory distinguishes among different ways to measure the money supply, reflected in different types of monetary aggregates, using a categorization system that focuses on the liquidity of the financial instrument used as money. The most commonly used monetary aggregates (or types of money) are conventionally designated M1, M2 and M3. These are successively larger aggregate categories: M1 is currency (coins and bills) plus demand deposits (such as checking accounts); M2 is M1 plus savings accounts and time deposits under $100,000; and M3 is M2 plus larger time deposits and similar institutional accounts. M1 includes only the most liquid financial instruments, and M3 relatively illiquid instruments.

Another measure of money, M0, is also used; unlike the other measures, it does not represent actual purchasing power by firms and households in the economy. M0 is base money, or the amount of money actually issued by the central bank of a country. It is measured as currency plus deposits of banks and other institutions at the central bank. M0 is also the only money that can satisfy the reserve requirements of commercial banks.
Market liquidity Main article: Market liquidity

Market liquidity describes how easily an item can be traded for another item, or into the common currency within an economy. Money is the most liquid asset because it is universally recognised and accepted as the common currency. In this way, money gives consumers the freedom to trade goods and services easily without having to barter. Liquid financial instruments are easily tradable and have low transaction costs. There should be no (or minimal) spread between the prices to buy and sell the instrument being used as money.

Types of money
Currently, most modern monetary systems are based on fiat money. However, for most of history, almost all money was commodity money, such as gold and silver coins. As economies developed, commodity money was eventually replaced by representative money, such as the gold standard, as traders found the physical transportation of gold and silver burdensome. Fiat currencies gradually took over in the last hundred years, especially since the breakup of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s.
Commodity money Main article: Commodity money

Many items have been used as commodity money such as naturally scarce precious metals, conch shells, barley, beads etc., as well as many other things that are thought of as having value. Commodity money value comes from the commodity out of which it is made. The commodity itself constitutes the money, and the money is the commodity.[21] Examples of commodities that have been used as mediums of exchange include gold, silver, copper, rice, salt, peppercorns, large stones, decorated belts, shells, alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, candy, etc. These items were sometimes used in a metric of perceived value in conjunction to one another, in various commodity valuation or Price System economies. Use of commodity money is similar to barter, but a commodity money provides a simple and automatic unit of account for the commodity which is being used as money. Although some gold coins such as the Krugerrand are considered legal tender, there is no record of their face value on either side of the coin. The rationale for this is that emphasis is laid on their direct link to the prevailing value of their fine gold content.[22] American Eagles are imprinted with their gold content and legal tender face value.[23]
Representative money Main article: Representative money

In 1875 economist William Stanley Jevons described what he called "representative money," i.e., money that consists of token coins, or other physical tokens such as certificates, that can be reliably exchanged for a fixed quantity of a commodity such as gold or silver. The value of representative money stands in direct and fixed relation to the commodity that backs it, while not itself being composed of that commodity.[24]
Fiat money Main article: Fiat money

Fiat money or fiat currency is money whose value is not derived from any intrinsic value or guarantee that it can be converted into a valuable commodity (such as gold). Instead, it has value only by government order (fiat). Usually, the government declares the fiat currency (typically notes and coins from a central bank, such as the Federal Reserve System in the U.S.) to be legal tender, making it unlawful to not accept the fiat currency as a means of repayment for all debts, public and private.[25][26] Some bullion coins such as the Australian Gold Nugget and American Eagle are legal tender, however, they trade based on the market price of the metal content as a commodity, rather than their legal tender face value (which is usually only a small fraction of their bullion value).[23][27] Fiat money, if physically represented in the form of currency (paper or coins) can be accidentally damaged or destroyed. However, fiat money has an advantage over representative or commodity money, in that the same laws that created the money can also define rules for its replacement in case of damage or destruction. For example, the U.S. government will replace mutilated Federal Reserve notes (U.S. fiat money) if at least half of the physical note can be reconstructed, or if it can be otherwise proven to have been destroyed.[28] By contrast, commodity money which has been lost or destroyed cannot be recovered.
Currency Main article: currency

Currency refers to physical objects generally accepted as a medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply. The other part of a nation's money supply consists of bank deposits (sometimes called deposit money), ownership of which can be transferred by means of cheques, debit cards, or other forms of money transfer. Deposit money and currency are money in the sense that both are acceptable as a means of payment.[29] Money in the form of currency has predominated throughout most of history. Usually (gold or silver) coins of intrinsic value (commodity money) have been the norm. However, nearly all contemporary money systems are based on fiat money modern currency has value only by government order (fiat). Usually, the government declares the fiat currency (typically notes and coins issued by the central bank) to be legal tender, making it unlawful to not accept the fiat currency as a means of repayment for all debts, public and private.[25][26]
Commercial bank money Main article: Demand deposit

Commercial bank money or demand deposits are claims against financial institutions that can be used for the purchase of goods and services. A demand deposit account is an account from which funds can be withdrawn at any time by check or cash withdrawal without giving the bank or financial institution any prior notice. Banks have the legal obligation to return funds held in demand deposits immediately upon demand (or 'at call'). Demand deposit withdrawals can be performed in person, via checks or bank drafts, using automatic teller machines (ATMs), or through online banking.[30] Commercial bank money is created through fractional-reserve banking, the banking practice where banks keep only a fraction of their deposits in reserve (as cash and other highly liquid assets) and lend out the remainder, while maintaining the simultaneous obligation to redeem all these deposits upon demand.[31][32] Commercial bank money differs from commodity and fiat money in two ways, firstly it is non-physical, as its existence is only reflected in the account ledgers of banks and other financial institutions, and secondly, there is some element of risk that the claim will not be fulfilled if the financial institution becomes insolvent. The process of fractional-reserve banking has a cumulative effect of money creation by commercial banks, as it expands money supply (cash and demand deposits) beyond what it would otherwise be. Because of the prevalence of fractional reserve banking, the broad money supply of most countries is a multiple larger than the amount of base money created by the country's central bank. That multiple (called the money multiplier) is determined by the reserve requirement or other financial ratio requirements imposed by financial regulators. The money supply of a country is usually held to be the total amount of currency in circulation plus the total amount of checking and savings deposits in the commercial banks in the country. In modern economies, relatively little of the money supply is in physical currency. For example, in December 2010 in the U.S., of the $8853.4 billion in broad money supply (M2), only $915.7 billion (about 10%) consisted of physical coins and paper money.[33]

Monetary policy
Main article: Monetary policy

When gold and silver are used as money, the money supply can grow only if the supply of these metals is increased by mining. This rate of increase will accelerate during periods of gold rushes and discoveries, such as when Columbus discovered the new world and brought back gold and silver to Spain, or when gold was discovered in California in 1848. This causes inflation, as the value of gold goes down. However, if the rate of gold mining cannot keep up with the growth of the economy, gold becomes relatively more valuable, and prices (denominated in gold) will drop, causing deflation. Deflation was the more typical situation for over a century when gold and paper money backed by gold were used as money in the 18th and 19th centuries. Modern day monetary systems are based on fiat money and are no longer tied to the value of gold. The control of the amount of money in the economy is known as monetary policy. Monetary policy is the process by which a government, central bank, or monetary authority manages the money supply to achieve specific goals. Usually the goal of monetary policy is to accommodate economic growth in an environment of stable prices. For example, it is clearly stated in the Federal Reserve Act that the Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market

Committee should seek to promote effectively the goals of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.[34] A failed monetary policy can have significant detrimental effects on an economy and the society that depends on it. These include hyperinflation, stagflation, recession, high unemployment, shortages of imported goods, inability to export goods, and even total monetary collapse and the adoption of a much less efficient barter economy. This happened in Russia, for instance, after the fall of the Soviet Union. Governments and central banks have taken both regulatory and free market approaches to monetary policy. Some of the tools used to control the money supply include:

changing the interest rate at which the central bank loans money to (or borrows money from) the commercial banks currency purchases or sales increasing or lowering government borrowing increasing or lowering government spending manipulation of exchange rates raising or lowering bank reserve requirements regulation or prohibition of private currencies taxation or tax breaks on imports or exports of capital into a country

In the US, the Federal Reserve is responsible for controlling the money supply, while in the Euro area the respective institution is the European Central Bank. Other central banks with significant impact on global finances are the Bank of Japan, People's Bank of China and the Bank of England. For many years much of monetary policy was influenced by an economic theory known as monetarism. Monetarism is an economic theory which argues that management of the money supply should be the primary means of regulating economic activity. The stability of the demand for money prior to the 1980s was a key finding of Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz[35] supported by the work of David Laidler,[36] and many others. The nature of the demand for money changed during the 1980s owing to technical, institutional, and legal factors and the influence of monetarism has since decreased.

Financial institution
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search

In financial economics, a financial institution is an institution that provides financial services for its clients or members. Probably the most important financial service provided by financial institutions is acting as financial intermediaries. Most financial institutions are regulated by the government. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial institutions:[1]
1. Deposit-taking institutions that accept and manage deposits and make loans, including banks, building societies, credit unions, trust companies, and mortgage loan companies 2. Insurance companies and pension funds; and 3. Brokers, underwriters and investment funds.

[edit] Function
Financial institutions provide service as intermediaries of financial markets. They are responsible for transferring funds from investors to companies in need of those funds. Financial institutions facilitate the flow of money through the economy. To do so, savings arisk brought to provide funds for loans. Such is the primary means for depository institutions to develop revenue. Should the yield curve become inverse, firms in this arena will offer additional fee-generating services including securities underwriting, and pre. fds

[edit] Corporate valuation

Relative metrics : Price/Equity Price/Book Value Use Equity Multiples (as opposed to Enterprise Multiples). To consider how valuing a Financial Institution's balance sheet is different from a non-Financial firm, consider how an industrial firm wields capital machinery (asset) and the loans (liabilities) it used to finance that asset. The line is blurred in Financial Institutions, which must hold deposit accounts (liabilities) to fuel the

issuance of loans (assets). The same accounts are considered loans as they are held in ownership not of the bank, but of the individual client. Dividend Discount Model : Earnings-per-share Dividends-per-share Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Model : You'll need the FCFE (Free Cash Flow for Equity), which is the amount of money that is returned to shareholders. Calculate an FCFF (Free Cash Flow to the Firm): EBIT (1-tax rate) -Capital Expenditures+ (Depreciation & Amortization) (Net increase in working capital)= FCFF FCFF-Debt+Cash=FCFE Use the Capital Asset Pricing Model, not the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (for the same reasons one uses Equity Multiples in relative valuation) to determine the cost of equity (the return required by shareholders to make the decision to invest in a financial institutions) Excess Return Model : A model where valuation is expressed as the sum of capital invested currently in the firm and the present value of dollar excess returns that the firm expects to make in the future.[1]

[edit] Standing settlement instructions

Standing Settlement Instructions (SSIs) are the agreements between two financial institutions which fix the receiving agents of each counterparty in ordinary trades of some type. These agreements allow traders to make faster trades since time used to settle the receiving agents is conserved. Limiting the trader to an SSI also lowers the likelihood of a fraud.

[edit] Regulation
See also: Financial regulation

Financial institutions in most countries operate in a heavily regulated environment as they are critical parts of countries' economies. Regulation structures differ in each country, but typically involve prudential regulation as well as consumer protection and market stability. Some countries have one consolidated agency that regulates all financial institutions while others have separate agencies for different types of institutions such as banks, insurance companies and brokers. Countries that have separate agencies include the United States, where the key governing bodies are the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - National Banks, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) State "nonmember" banks, National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) - Credit Unions, Federal Reserve (Fed) - "member" Banks, Office of Thrift Supervision - National Savings & Loan Association, State governments each often regulate and charter financial institutions.

Countries that have one consolidated financial regulator include United Kingdom with the Financial Services Authority, Norway with the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, Hong Kong with Hong Kong Monetary Authority and Russia with Central Bank of Russia. See also List of financial regulatory authorities by country.

Financial market
A financial market is a market in which people and entities can trade financial securities, commodities, and other fungible items of value at low transaction costs and at prices that reflect supply and demand. Securities include stocks and bonds, and commodities include precious metals or agricultural goods. There are both general markets (where many commodities are traded) and specialized markets (where only one commodity is traded). Markets work by placing many interested buyers and sellers, including households, firms, and government agences, in one "place", thus making it easier for them to find each other. An economy which relies primarily on interactions between buyers and sellers to allocate resources is known as a market economy in contrast either to a command economy or to a non-market economy such as a gift economy. In finance, financial markets facilitate:

The raising of capital (in the capital markets) The transfer of risk (in the derivatives markets) Price discovery Global transactions with integration of financial markets The transfer of liquidity (in the money markets) International trade (in the currency markets)

and are used to match those who want capital to those who have it. Typically a borrower issues a receipt to the lender promising to pay back the capital. These receipts are securities which may be freely bought or sold. In return for lending money to the borrower, the lender will expect some compensation in the form of interest or dividends. This return on investment is a necessary part of markets to ensure that funds are supplied to them.

[edit] Definition
In economics, typically, the term market means the aggregate of possible buyers and sellers of a certain good or service and the transactions between them. The term "market" is sometimes used for what are more strictly exchanges, organizations that facilitate the trade in financial securities, e.g., a stock exchange or commodity exchange. This may be a physical location (like the NYSE, BSE, NSE) or an electronic system (like NASDAQ). Much trading of stocks takes place on an exchange; still, corporate actions (merger, spinoff) are outside an exchange, while any two companies or people, for whatever reason, may agree to sell stock from the one to the other without using an exchange.

Trading of currencies and bonds is largely on a bilateral basis, although some bonds trade on a stock exchange, and people are building electronic systems for these as well, similar to stock exchanges. Financial markets can be domestic or they can be international.

[edit] Types of financial markets

The financial markets can be divided into different subtypes:

Capital markets which consist of: o Stock markets, which provide financing through the issuance of shares or common stock, and enable the subsequent trading thereof. o Bond markets, which provide financing through the issuance of bonds, and enable the subsequent trading thereof. Commodity markets, which facilitate the trading of commodities. Money markets, which provide short term debt financing and investment. Derivatives markets, which provide instruments for the management of financial risk. Futures markets, which provide standardized forward contracts for trading products at some future date; see also forward market. Insurance markets, which facilitate the redistribution of various risks. Foreign exchange markets, which facilitate the trading of foreign exchange.

The capital markets may also be divided into primary markets and secondary markets. Newly formed (issued) securities are bought or sold in primary markets, such as during initial public offerings. Secondary markets allow investors to buy and sell existing securities. The transactions in primary markets exist between issuers and investors, while in secondary market transactions exist among investors. Liquidity is a crucial aspect of securities that are traded in secondary markets. Liquidity refers to the ease with which a security can be sold without a loss of value. Securities with an active secondary market mean that there are many buyers and sellers at a given point in time. Investors benefit from liquid securities because they can sell their assets whenever they want; an illiquid security may force the seller to get rid of their asset at a large discount.

[edit] Raising capital

Financial markets attract funds from investors and channel them to corporations--they thus allow corporations to finance their operations and achieve growth. Money markets allow firms to borrow funds on a short term basis, while capital markets allow corporations to gain long-term funding to support expansion. Without financial markets, borrowers would have difficulty finding lenders themselves. Intermediaries such as banks help in this process. Banks take deposits from those who have money to save. They can then lend money from this pool of deposited money to those who seek to borrow. Banks popularly lend money in the form of loans and mortgages.

More complex transactions than a simple bank deposit require markets where lenders and their agents can meet borrowers and their agents, and where existing borrowing or lending commitments can be sold on to other parties. A good example of a financial market is a stock exchange. A company can raise money by selling shares to investors and its existing shares can be bought or sold. The following table illustrates where financial markets fit in the relationship between lenders and borrowers:

Relationship between lenders and borrowers

Lenders Financial Intermediaries Banks Insurance Companies Pension Funds Mutual Funds Financial Markets Interbank Stock Exchange Money Market Bond Market Foreign Exchange Borrowers Individuals Companies Central Government Municipalities Public Corporations

Individuals Companies

[edit] Lenders

Who have enough money to lend or to give someone money from own pocket at the condition of getting back the principal amount or with some interest or charge, is the Lender. [edit] Individuals & Doubles Many individuals are not aware that they are lenders, but almost everybody does lend money in many ways. A person lends money when he or she:

puts money in a savings account at a bank; contributes to a pension plan; pays premiums to an insurance company; invests in government bonds; or invests in company shares.

[edit] Companies Companies tend to be borrowers of capital. When companies have surplus cash that is not needed for a short period of time, they may seek to make money from their cash surplus by lending it via short term markets called money markets. There are a few companies that have very strong cash flows. These companies tend to be lenders rather than borrowers. Such companies may decide to return cash to lenders (e.g. via a share buyback.) Alternatively, they may seek to make more money on their cash by lending it (e.g. investing in bonds and stocks.)

[edit] Borrowers

Individuals borrow money via bankers' loans for short term needs or longer term mortgages to help finance a house purchase. Companies borrow money to aid short term or long term cash flows. They also borrow to fund modernisation or future business expansion. Governments often find their spending requirements exceed their tax revenues. To make up this difference, they need to borrow. Governments also borrow on behalf of nationalised industries, municipalities, local authorities and other public sector bodies. In the UK, the total borrowing requirement is often referred to as the Public sector net cash requirement (PSNCR). Governments borrow by issuing bonds. In the UK, the government also borrows from individuals by offering bank accounts and Premium Bonds. Government debt seems to be permanent. Indeed the debt seemingly expands rather than being paid off. One strategy used by governments to reduce the value of the debt is to influence inflation. Municipalities and local authorities may borrow in their own name as well as receiving funding from national governments. In the UK, this would cover an authority like Hampshire County Council. Public Corporations typically include nationalised industries. These may include the postal services, railway companies and utility companies. Many borrowers have difficulty raising money locally. They need to borrow internationally with the aid of Foreign exchange markets. Borrowers having similar needs can form into a group of borrowers. They can also take an organizational form like Mutual Funds. They can provide mortgage on weight basis. The main advantage is that this lowers the cost of their borrowings.

[edit] Derivative products

During the 1980s and 1990s, a major growth sector in financial markets is the trade in so called derivative products, or derivatives for short. In the financial markets, stock prices, bond prices, currency rates, interest rates and dividends go up and down, creating risk. Derivative products are financial products which are used to control risk or paradoxically exploit risk. It is also called financial economics. Derivative products or instruments help the issuers to gain an unusual profit from issuing the instruments. For using the help of these products a contract has to be made. Derivative contracts are mainly 3 types: 1. Future Contracts 2. Forward Contracts 3. Option Contracts.

[edit] Currency markets

Main article: Foreign exchange market

Seemingly, the most obvious buyers and sellers of currency are importers and exporters of goods. While this may have been true in the distant past,[when?] when international trade created the demand for currency markets, importers and exporters now represent only 1/32 of foreign exchange dealing, according to the Bank for International Settlements.[1]

[edit] Analysis of financial markets

See Statistical analysis of financial markets, statistical finance

Much effort has gone into the study of financial markets and how prices vary with time. Charles Dow, one of the founders of Dow Jones & Company and The Wall Street Journal, enunciated a set of ideas on the subject which are now called Dow Theory. This is the basis of the so-called technical analysis method of attempting to predict future changes. One of the tenets of "technical analysis" is that market trends give an indication of the future, at least in the short term. The claims of the technical analysts are disputed by many academics, who claim that the evidence points rather to the random walk hypothesis, which states that the next change is not correlated to the last change. In recent years the rise of algorithmic and high-frequency program trading has seen the adoption of momentum, ultra-short term moving average and other similar strategies which are based on technical as opposed to fundamental or theoretical concepts of market behaviour. The scale of changes in price over some unit of time is called the volatility. It was discovered by Benot Mandelbrot that changes in prices do not follow a Gaussian distribution, but are rather modeled better by Lvy stable distributions. The scale of change, or volatility, depends on the length of the time unit to a power a bit more than 1/2. Large changes up or down are more likely than what one would calculate using a Gaussian distribution with an estimated standard deviation.

[edit] Financial market slang

Poison pill, when a company issues more shares to prevent being bought out by another company, thereby increasing the number of outstanding shares to be bought by the hostile company making the bid to establish majority. Quant, a quantitative analyst with a PhD[citation needed] (and above) level of training in mathematics and statistical methods. Rocket scientist, a financial consultant at the zenith of mathematical and computer programming skill. They are able to invent derivatives of high complexity and construct sophisticated pricing models. They generally handle the most advanced computing techniques adopted by the financial markets since the early 1980s. Typically, they are physicists and engineers by training; rocket scientists do not necessarily build rockets for a living. White Knight, a friendly party in a takeover bid. Used to describe a party that buys the shares of one organization to help prevent against a hostile takeover of that organization by another party.

Financial instrument
A financial instrument is a tradable asset of any kind, either cash; evidence of an ownership interest in an entity; or a contractual right to receive, or deliver, cash or another financial instrument. According to IAS 32 and 39, it is defined as "any contract that gives rise to a financial asset of one entity and a financial liability or equity instrument of another entity".

[edit] Categorization
Financial instruments can be categorized by form depending on whether they are cash instruments or derivative instruments:

Cash instruments are financial instruments whose value is determined directly by markets. They can be divided into securities, which are readily transferable, and other cash instruments such as loans and deposits, where both borrower and lender have to agree on a transfer. Derivative instruments are financial instruments which derive their value from the value and characteristics of one or more underlying entities such as an asset, index, or interest rate. They can be divided into exchange-traded derivatives and over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.

Alternatively, financial instruments can be categorized by "asset class" depending on whether they are equity based (reflecting ownership of the issuing entity) or debt based (reflecting a loan the investor has made to the issuing entity). If it is debt, it can be further categorised into short term (less than one year) or long term. Foreign Exchange instruments and transactions are neither debt nor equity based and belong in their own category.
[edit] A table

Combining the above methods for categorization, the main instruments can be organized into a table as follows:
Instrument Type Asset Class Securities Other cash Exchange-traded derivatives

OTC derivatives

Debt (Long Term) >1 year

Bonds

Loans

Interest rate swaps Interest rate caps and Bond futures floors Options on bond futures Interest rate options Exotic instruments

Debt (Short Term) <=1 year

Bills, e.g. T-Bills Commercial paper

Deposits Certificates of deposit

Short term interest rate futures

Forward rate agreements

Equity

Stock

N/A

Stock options Equity futures

Stock options Exotic instruments Foreign exchange options Outright forwards Foreign exchange swaps Currency swaps

Foreign Exchange

N/A

Spot foreign exchange

Currency futures

Some instruments defy categorization into the above matrix, for example repurchase agreements.

[edit] Measuring Financial Instrument's Gain or Loss

The table below shows how to measure a financial instrument's gain or loss:

Instrument Type

Categories

Measurement

Gains and losses Net income when asset is derecognized or impaired (foreign exchange and impairment recognized in net income immediately) Other comprehensive income (impairment recognized in net income immediately)

Assets

Loans and receivables

Amortized costs

Assets

Available for sale financial assets

Deposit account Fair value

Financial regulatory authorities of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search

Pages in category "Financial regulatory authorities of Pakistan"

The following 3 pages are in this category, out of 3 total. This list may not reflect recent changes (learn more).
P

Planning Commission (Pakistan)

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan State Bank of Pakistan

Planning Commission (Pakistan)

The Planning Commission of Pakistan, commonly known as Planning Commission, is a Pakistan Government's executive and federal departmental institution in charge of managing the economy of the country in tandem with the Ministry of Finance. Its main function is to prepare five-year plans of economic and social development. The Public Sector Development Programmes (PSDPs) also fall under domain of the commission. The Prime Minister is the chairman of the Planning Commission which apart from the Deputy Chairman, comprises nine Members including Secretary, Planning and Development Division/ Member Coordination; Chief Economist; Director, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Executive Director, Implementation and Monitoring; and Members for Social Sectors, Science and Technology, Energy, Infrastructure, and Food and Agriculture.[1] As of 2012, the chairman is Yousaf Raza Gillani who is also the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the deputy chairman is Dr. Nadeem ul Haque and the adviser is Dr Ishfaq Ahmad.[2]

Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) is the financial regulatory agency in Pakistan whose purpose is to develop a modern and efficient corporate sector in and a capital market based on sound regulatory principles, in order to foster economic growth and prosperity.[citation needed]

[edit] History
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) was created to succeed the Corporate Law Authority, which was an attached Department of the Ministry of Finance. The process of restructuring the Authority was initiated in 1997 under the Capital Market Development Plan of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). A Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Act was passed by the Parliament and promulgated in December 1997. In pursuance of this Act, the SECP, having autonomous status, became operational on January 1 1999. [1] The Act gave the organization the administrative authority and financial independence

to carry out the reform program of Pakistans capital market with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The scope of the authority of the SECP has been extensively widened since its creation. The insurance sector, non-banking financial companies, and pension funds have been added to the purview of the Commission. Now the SECP's mandate includes investment financial services, leasing companies, housing finance services, venture capital investment, discounting services, investment advisory services, real estate investment trust[2] and asset management services, etc. The SECP also regulates various external service providers that are linked to the corporate sector, like chartered accountants, rating agencies, corporate secretaries and others. State Bank of Pakistan The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) (Urdu: ) is the central bank of Pakistan. While its constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until January 1, 1974, when the bank was nationalized, the scope of its functions was considerably enlarged. The State Bank of Pakistan Act 1956, with subsequent amendments, forms the basis of its operations today. The headquarters are located in the financial capital of Pakistan, Karachi with its second headquarters in the capital, Islamabad.

[edit] History
Before independence on 14 August 1947, during British colonial regime the Reserve Bank of India was the central bank for both India and Pakistan. On 30 December 1948 the British Government's commission distributed the Reserve Bank of India's reserves between Pakistan and India -30 percent (750 M gold) for Pakistan and 70 percent for India. The losses incurred in the transition to independence were taken from Pakistan's share (a total of 230 million). In May, 1948 Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Founder of Pakistan) took steps to establish the State Bank of Pakistan immediately. These were implemented in June 1948, and the State Bank of Pakistan commenced operation on July 1, 1948 Under the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, the state bank of Pakistan was charged with the duty to "regulate the issue of bank notes and keeping of reserves with a view to securing monetary stability in Pakistan and generally to operate the currency and credit system of the country to its advantage". A large section of the state bank's duties were widened when the State Bank of Pakistan Act 1956 was introduced. It required the state bank to "regulate the monetary and credit system of Pakistan and to foster its growth in the best national interest with a view to securing monetary stability and fuller utilisation of the countrys productive resources". In February 1994, the State Bank was given full autonomy, during the financial sector reforms. On January 21, 1997, this autonomy was further strengthened when the government issued three Amendment Ordinances (which were approved by the Parliament in May 1997). Those included were the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956, Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 and Banks Nationalisation Act, 1974. These changes gave full and exclusive authority to the State Bank to

regulate the banking sector, to conduct an independent monetary policy and to set limit on government borrowings from the State Bank of Pakistan. The amendments to the Banks Nationalisation Act brought the end of the Pakistan Banking Council (an institution established to look after the affairs of NCBs) and allowed the jobs of the council to be appointed to the Chief Executives, Boards of the Nationalised Commercial Banks (NCBs) and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). The State Bank having a role in their appointment and removal. The amendments also increased the autonomy and accountability of the chief executives, the Boards of Directors of banks and DFIs. The State Bank of Pakistan also performs both the traditional and developmental functions to achieve macroeconomic goals. The traditional functions, may be classified into two groups: 1) The primary functions including issue of notes, regulation and supervision of the financial system, bankers bank, lender of the last resort, banker to Government, and conduct of monetary policy. 2) The secondary functions including the agency functions like management of public debt, management of foreign exchange, etc., and other functions like advising the government on policy matters and maintaining close relationships with international financial institutions. The non-traditional or promotional functions, performed by the State Bank include development of financial framework, institutionalisation of savings and investment, provision of training facilities to bankers, and provision of credit to priority sectors. The State Bank also has been playing an active part in the process of islamisation of the banking system. The Bank is active in promoting financial inclusion policy and is a leading member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion. It is also one of the original 17 regulatory institutions to make specific national commitments to financial inclusion under the Maya Declaration[1] during the 2011 Global Policy Forum held in Mexico.

[edit] Regulation of liquidity

The State Bank of Pakistan has also been entrusted with the responsibility to carry out monetary and credit policy in accordance with Government targets for growth and inflation with the recommendations of the Monetary and Fiscal Policies Co-ordination Board without trying to effect the macroeconomic policy objectives. The state bank also regulates the volume and the direction of flow of credit to different uses and sectors, the state bank makes use of both direct and indirect instruments of monetary management. During the 1980s, Pakistan embarked upon a program of financial sector reforms, which lead to a number of fundamental changes. Due to these changed the conduct of monetary management which brought about changes to the administrative controls and quantitative restrictions to market based monetary management. A reserve money management programme has been developed, for intermediate target of M2, that would be achieved by observing the desired path of reserve money - the operating target. State Bank of Pakistan has changed the format and designs of many bank notes which are currently in circulation in Pakistan. These steps were taken to overcome the problems of fraudulent activities.

[edit] Banking
The State Bank of Pakistan looks into a lot of different ranges of banking to deal with the changes in economic climate and different purchasing and buying powers. Here are some of the banking areas that the state bank looks into;

State Banks Shariah Board Approves Essentials and Model Agreements for Islamic Modes of Financing Procedure For Submitting Claims With Sbp In Respect of Unclaimed Deposits Surrendered By Banks/Dfis. Banking Sector Supervision in Pakistan Micro Finance Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Minimum Capital Requirements for Banks Remittance Facilities in Pakistan Opening of Foreign Currency Accounts with Banks in Pakistan under new scheme. Handbook of Corporate Governance Guidelines on Risk Management Guidelines on Commercial Paper Guidelines on Securitization SBP.Scheme for Agricultural Financing

[edit] Bank assets and liabilities

This is a chart of trend of major assets and liabilities reported by scheduled commercial banks to the State Bank of Pakistan with figures in millions of Pakistani Rupees.[1][2][3]
Year Deposits Advances Investments 2002 1,466,019 932,059 559,542

2006 2,806,645 2,189,368 799,285

Legal Services Library Payment System Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS System) Small and Medium Enterprises Training and Development Department (TDD) Treasury Operations Strategic & Corporate Planning Microfinance Pakistan Remittance Initiative

Types of Liquidation
There are three types of liquidation: members' voluntary liquidation, creditors' voluntary liquidation and lastly compulsory liquidation. Each one is, for the most part similar, however, each one slightly differs so in order to best describe the three types in strong detail each method of liquidation needs to be defined and then looked at in comparison to the others.

The first of the three types of liquidation that will be looked at is the members' voluntary liquidation agreement, this form of liquidation occurs when the company has enough money in order to pay off all the debts owed. This is usually the chosen method for shareholders when an important person dies or the company no longer sees a future for itself. Although the downfall of any business is bad, by doing a voluntary members' liquidation agreement, the company can ensure that it fulfils its obligations to its debtors and ends within good faith, which is the best way in terms of ethics. The second of the three is the creditors' voluntary liquidation agreement, this differs from the first in that rather than having the full amount of money needed in order to pay off its debtors, they unfortunately have very little and as such it tends to be the debtors that enforce their rights in order to send the company into voluntary liquidation in order to fulfil its debts. However, it is important to note that it is still the shareholders that decide whether to keep the business running or not and it will then be down to the debtors to launch a winding up petition in an attempt at forcing the company into administration. The third type of voluntary liquidation is, as earlier mentioned, compulsory liquidation. Compulsory liquidation is when a winding up petition has been issued and the court has found in favour of the debtors, this is probably the less likely occurrences as business prefer to be paid in full rather then shut a company down in order to recover less than it wants to due to the business simply not having the money to pay. If you find yourself or your businesses in such a predicament as described there are multiple online sources and legal sources you can look to in order to ensure you get the best advice that is tailored to you. Such places include the Citizen Advice Bureau which gives out free legal advice both by phone and by interview and depending on the severity of the issue you may be able to only communicate by phone, which would help many people who find it difficult to travel o to multiple obligations. Also remember that having strong legal backing is a must for any business as correct court room experience and a proper legal defence are needed when a winding up petition is made against you. If you find yourself or your businesses in such a predicament as described there are multiple online sources and legal sources you can look to in order to ensure you get the best advice that is tailored to you. Such places include the Citizen Advice Bureau which gives out free legal advice both by phone and by interview and depending on the severity of the issue you may be able to only communicate by phone, which would help many people who find it difficult to travel o to multiple obligations. Also remember that having strong legal backing is a must for any business as correct court room experience and a proper legal defence are needed when a winding up petition is made against you Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tom_V_Powell

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3446592

Different Types Of Bonds

Government Bonds In general, fixed-income securities are classified according to the length of time before maturity. These are the three main categories: Bills - debt securities maturing in less than one year. Notes - debt securities maturing in one to 10 years. Bonds - debt securities maturing in more than 10 years. Marketable securities from the U.S. government - known collectively as Treasuries - follow this guideline and are issued as Treasury bonds, Treasury notes and Treasury bills (T-bills). Technically speaking, T-bills aren't bonds because of their short maturity. (You can read more about T-bills in our Money Market tutorial.) All debt issued by Uncle Sam is regarded as extremely safe, as is the debt of any stable country. The debt of many developing countries, however, does carry substantial risk. Like companies, countries can default on payments. Municipal Bonds Municipal bonds, known as "munis", are the next progression in terms of risk. Cities don't go bankrupt that often, but it can happen. The major advantage to munis is that the returns are free from federal tax. Furthermore, local governments will sometimes make their debt non-taxable for residents, thus making some municipal bonds completely tax free. Because of these tax savings, the yield on a muni is usually lower than that of a taxable bond. Depending on your personal situation, a muni can be a great investment on an after-tax basis. Join our free newsletter for winning penny stocks! Corporate Bonds A company can issue bonds just as it can issue stock. Large corporations have a lot of flexibility as to how much debt they can issue: the limit is whatever the market will bear. Generally, a short-term corporate bond is less than five years; intermediate is five to 12 years, and long term is over 12 years. Corporate bonds are characterized by higher yields because there is a higher risk of a company defaulting than a government. The upside is that they can also be the most rewarding fixed-income investments because of the risk the investor must take on. The company's credit quality is very important: the higher the quality, the lower the interest rate the investor receives. Other variations on corporate bonds include convertible bonds, which the holder can convert into stock, and callable bonds, which allow the company to redeem an issue prior to maturity.

Zero-Coupon Bonds

This is a type of bond that makes no coupon payments but instead is issued at a considerable discount to par value. For example, let's say a zero-coupon bond with a $1,000 par value and 10 years to maturity is trading at $600; you'd be paying $600 today for a bond that will be worth $1,000 in 10 years.

Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/university/bonds/bonds4.asp#ixzz1oGbo2HNz S