University:
California State University, Northridge
Course:
FIN 639 | Seminar in Financial Problems
Academic year:

2024
Views:

79

Pages:

17
Author:

Samara Olson

The Market for Foreign Exchange FX Market Participants     The FX market is a two-tiered market: - Interbank market (wholesale) About 100-200 banks worldwide stand ready to make a market in foreign exchange. Nonbank dealers account for about 40% of the market. There are FX brokers who match buy and sell orders but do not carry inventory and FX specialists. - Client market (retail) Market participants include international banks, their customers, nonbank dealers, FX brokers, and central banks. Why is the trading volume so large in the FOREX market? Largest in the world: $4 trillion daily 2 The Spot Market The spot market involves immediate purchase or sale of foreign exchange Direct  quotation from US perspective the U.S. dollar equivalent the price of one unit of the foreign currency in US Dollars Indirect Quotation from US perspective the e.g. The price of a U.S. dollar in the foreign currency “you get 100 yen to the dollar” direct quote is the reciprocal of the indirect quote 3 The Bid-Ask Spread     In general, banks do not charge commissions on foreign currency transactions. They profit from bid-ask spread The bid-ask spread is the difference between the bid and ask prices The bid price is the price a dealer is willing to pay you for something (our case foreign currency); always listed first The ask price is the amount the dealer wants you to pay for the thing (our case foreign currency); listed second 4 The Bid-Ask Spread Interbank dealer quotes: - American terms: Euro, British Pound, Australian Dollar - European terms: all others Ex: You want to transact with a dealer that gives you the following quotations: $1.6625(bid) - 1.6635(ask)/£. The dealer buys (gets) one pound from you for $1.6625 The dealer sells (gives) one pound to you for $1.6635 The bid-ask spread is a function of liquidity of the market, the XR volatility as well as dealers’ inventory The retail bid-ask spread is wider than interbank spread 5 Cross Rates The cross rate is the rate of exchange between two non-US currencies Suppose that S(Euro/$) = 1.25 and that S($/Yen) = 110 Yen What must the Euro/Yen cross rate be? Euro/Yen= ($/Yen)x(Euro/$) = 110x1.25= 137.5  Suppose that S(Euro/$) = 1.25 and that S(AUD/$) = 0.5 What must the Euro/AUD cross rate be? 6 Currency conversion   A businessman has just completed transactions in Italy and England. He is now holding €250,000 and £500,000 and wants to convert to U.S. dollars. His currency dealer provides this quotation: USD/GBP 0.5025 – 76 EUR/USD 1.4739 – 44  What are his proceeds from conversion? He sells €250,000 at the dealer’s bid price: €250,000 x $1.4739 =$368,475 €1.00 He sells £500,000 (BUY USD) at the dealer’s ask price: £500,000 x $1.00 =$985,027.58 £.5076 7 $1,353,502.58 Vicentiu Covrig Cross Rates with Bid-Ask Spreads £10,000 sell £ at bid $19,712 buy € at ask €13,371 USD Bank American Terms European Terms Quotations Bid Ask Bid Ask Pounds 1.9712 1.9717 .5072 .5073 Euros 1.4738 1.4742 .6783 .6785 To find the €/£ cross bid rate, consider a retail customer who: Starts with £10,000, sells £ for $, and buys €: €.6783 $1.9712 = €13,370.65 £10,000 × × $1.00 £1.00 He has effectively sold £ at a €/£ bid price of €1.3371/£. 8 Triangular Arbitrage Bid Ask Deutsche Bank £:$ $1.9712 $1.9717 Credit Lyonnais €:$ $1.4738 $1.4742 Credit Agricole £:€ €1.3310 €1.3317 “No Arbitrage” £:€ €1.3371 €1.3378 Bank Quotations Suppose we observe these banks posting these exchange rates. As we have calculated the “no arbitrage” £/€ cross bid and ask rates, we can see that there is an arbitrage opportunity: €1.00 $1.9712 = €1.3371 £1 × × $1.4742 £1.00 9 Forward Rate Quotations The forward market for FX involves agreements to buy and sell foreign currencies in the future at prices agreed upon today.  Bank quotes for 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 month maturities are readily available for forward contracts.  Longer-term swaps are available.  10 Forward Rate Quotations Consider the exchange rates shown to the right. For British pounds, the spot exchange rate is $1.9717 = £1.00 while the 180-day forward rate is $1.9593 = £1.00 What’s up with that? Country/currency in US$ per US$ UK pound 1.9717 .5072 1-mos forward 1.9700 .5076 3-most forward 1.9663 .5086 6-mos forward 1.9593 .5104 Clearly market participants expect that the pound will be worth less in dollars in six months. 11 Forward Premium The interest rate differential implied by forward premium or discount.  For example, suppose the € is appreciating from S($/€) = 1.55 to F180($/€) = 1.60.  The 180-day forward premium is given by:  f180,€v$ F180($/€) – S($/€) 1.60 – 1.55 360 = × = ×2 S($/€) 1.55 180 = 0.0645, or 6.45% 12 Long and Short Forward Positions     If you have agreed to sell anything (spot or forward), you are “short”. If you have agreed to buy anything (forward or spot), you are “long”. If you have agreed to sell forex forward, you are short. If you have agreed to buy forex forward, you are long. 13 profit Payoff Profiles Consider the payoffs at maturity to a long position in a six month forward contract on £10,000. $1,407 Spot exchange in 6 months $/£ loss $1.90/£ $2.10/£ Country/currency $1.9593/£ UK pound −$593 in US$ per US$ 1.9717 .5072 1-mos forward 1.9700 .5076 3-most forward 1.9663 .5086 6-mos forward 1.9593 .5104 14 Profit and losses of forward positions: examples The following quotations exist for the Australian dollar (AUD): Present spot rate($/AUD) $0.50 90-day forward rate $0.52 Your expectation of the spot rate in 90days $0.55 If your expectations prove correct, what would be your US dollar profit or loss from investing $4,000 in the spot market? If your expectations prove correct, what would be your US dollar profit or loss from investing $4,000 in the forward market? 15 The following sections in chapter 5 are not required for the exam: - Triangular Arbitrage -Spot Foreign Exchange Microstructure - Swap transactions 16 Learning outcomes • Know the structure of the FX market • Know the difference between wholesale (interbank) market and retail market • Who are the participants in the FX market? • Explain how are foreign exchange transactions between international banks settled • Know how to read/use spot and forward quotes; direct and indirect method •Calculate currency cross-rates, without bid-ask quotes, when given two spot or forward FX quotations involving three currencies •Calculate the profit or loss of short and long forward positions • Define and calculate the forward discount or premium, both as the difference and as an annualized % from the spot • Recommended questions:1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 • Recommended problems: 1, 2, 3, 6, 17

The Market for Foreign Exchange

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