What is Securities Lending? Securities lending is the act of lending or loaning a financial security, a stock, a bond, or a derivative, to a firm or an investor. It involves the borrower providing collateral for the security of the loan. The collateral can be in the form of either cash, bonds, shares, or a letter…
What is Trading Below Cash? Trading below cash takes place when the market capitalization of a company is lower than its cash holdings net of liabilities. It is a term often used in the investment industry. Such a situation usually happens to companies with uncertain or pessimistic outlooks. Understanding Trading Below Cash The market value…
What is a High-Ratio Loan? A high-ratio loan is a type of loan with a high loan value relative to the value of the property used as collateral. High-ratio loans usually carry higher interest rates than loans with lower ratios. There is no certain standard for high-ratio loans, but loans with LTV exceeding 80% are…
What is a High-Yield Bond? A high-yield bond is a bond that carries a relatively higher interest rate as a result of its lower credit rating, compared to investment-grade bonds. It is a corporate bond with a credit rating below Baa3 from Moody’s or BBB- from Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch. High-Yield Bonds and…
What is the High-Water Mark? High-water mark is the highest level of value reached by an investment account or portfolio. It is often used as a threshold to determine whether a fund manager can gain a performance fee. Investors benefit from a high-water mark by avoiding paying performance-based bonuses for poor performance or for the…
What is Technical Bankruptcy? Technical bankruptcy refers to a situation where an individual or entity (such as a corporation) is financially insolvent – has defaulted on debt payments – but neither they nor their creditor(s) has yet moved to file formal bankruptcy. In other words, they are effectively bankrupt, from a practical point of view,…
What is the Security Market Line (SML)? The security market line (SML) is a visual representation of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). SML is a theoretical representation of the expected returns of assets based on systematic, non-diversifiable risk. Idiosyncratic risk is not included in the security market line. More broadly, the SML plots the…
What is Seigniorage? Seigniorage refers to the profit made by a government when it issues currency. It is simply the difference in the value of the currency versus the cost of producing it. For example, if a central government bank produces a bill worth $10 and it only costs $5 to make it, there is…
What is a Scatter Plot? A scatter plot is a chart type that is normally used to observe and visually display the relationship between variables. The values of the variables are represented by dots. The positioning of the dots on the vertical and horizontal axis will inform the value of the respective data point; hence,…
What are High Street Banks? High street banks are large retail banks that offer daily banking services (e.g. deposit and checking accounts, cash deposits and withdrawals, and credit facilities) to the public and small to mid-sized businesses. They are banks with many branches spreading into multiple cities and towns. Understanding High Street Banks The term “high…
