Part of a company's annual report consisting of the balance sheet, the profit and loss account and the notes. Banks with total assets of CHF 100 million or more which transact a significant amount of balance sheet business are also required to produce a cash flow statement. Annual financial statements are intended to enable as reliable an assessment as possible of the company's asset and earnings situation.
annualized / annualisiert / annualisé / annualizzato O a figure: extrapolated for part of a year to reflect a hypothetical full year.
anticyclical Synonym for countercyclical.
Top
Ap
apostille / Apostille / apostille / apostilla Also: Hague apostille. Form of authentication and legislation introduced between the countries bound by the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the requirement for legalization of foreign public documents in order to facilitate international legal transactions. The apostille is in the shape of a square measuring 8 x 8 cm and is placed on official public documents. It confirms the authenticity of a public document following presentation of the original, thus waiving the requirement for verification by the consular officials of the country in which the document is intended for use. The apostille is issued by the administrative bodies of the relevant administrative sector. Apostilles for judicial documents are issued by the courts.
application for letter of credit / Akkreditiv-Auftrag / ordre d'ouverture d'un crédit documentaire / ordine d'apertura di un credito documentario Written request addressed by a customer (buyer) to his bank to open a letter of credit. Notification usually takes place via a correspondent bank. See also documentary credit.
approximate-limit order / Zirka-Auftrag / ordre environ / ordine circa A stock exchange order where the dealer can exercise a certain degree of discretion with regard to the limits when executing the order.
appurtenance lien / Zugehörpfandrecht / droit de gage sur accessoires / diritto di pegno su beni accessori A lien on real property which encumbers the land and all movables on it needed to fulfil the purpose of that property. To avoid subsequent disputes, the pledgor must as a rule submit a list of appurtenances to the land register office.
Top
Ar
arbitrage / Arbitrage / arbitrage / arbitraggio The practice of exploiting local and international price differences for identical assets (e.g. securities, currencies, banknotes) by buying said assets in the market with the lowest prices and selling them in the market with the highest prices. See also interest-rate arbitrage, cash-and-carry arbitrage.
arbitrageur / Arbitrageur / arbitragiste / arbitraggista Person or firm engaged in arbitrage. Arbitrageurs take substantial positions in value terms in order to profit from extremely small price fluctuations, thus ensuring high market liquidity.
Top
As
as and when issued / as if and when issued / dès parution / as if and when Clause used in the pre-issue market for securities to specify that the issue of said securities will take place on the terms and conditions and at the time envisaged.
ask price / Briefkurs / cours vendeur / corso lettera Price or rate at which securities, foreign exchange, foreign bank notes or precious metals are offered for sale. Price is marked A or a for asked. Opposite: bid.
asked Synonym for ask price.
assented bond / Assented Bond / assented bond / assented bond US: Bond whose owners have agreed to reduced interest payments or a reduced repayment of principal on the basis of a reorganization or rescheduling plan. See also bond issue in default.
asset allocation / Asset-Allocation / allocation d'actifs / asset allocation Composition of a portfolio by currency and asset class.
asset allocation fund / Anlagestrategiefonds / fonds de placements diversifiés / fondo a strategia d'investimento Investment fund which applies the official investment policy of the custodian bank. Depending on the risk category, the asset allocation fund can invest solely in the money market and bonds (income-oriented) or in equities as well (capital-gains-oriented).
asset and liability management / Bilanzstrukturmanagement / gestion des actifs et des passifs / asset and liability management Reconciliation of the assets, liabilities and off-balance sheet operations of a bank in order to optimize profitability, liquidity and security within the possibilities offered by the law.
asset class / Anlageklasse / catégorie de placement / categoria di investimento Any collection of assets that reacts in a unique way to the fundamental drivers of the economy. Most important asset classes are equity, fixed income, money market investment, and real estate.
asset management / Asset-Management / gestion d'actifs / asset management Range of services offered by banks for the active management of a client's assets under a portfolio management mandate. Asset management is essentially synonymous with portfolio management or wealth management but in practice often refers to the service provided to institutional investors. See also institutional investor.
asset management mandate / Verwaltungsvollmacht / pouvoir de gérance / mandato di gestione Also: portfolio management mandate. Limited power of attorney empowering the authorized agent to perform management and administrative acts, but not conferring any authority with regard to disposal. See also managed account.
asset swap / Asset-Swap / swap d'actifs / asset swap (1) General exchange of assets or payment obligations.
(2) Also: asset-based swap. Interest rate swap in which the fixed rate payer holds a bond whose cash flow (interest rate, interest payment dates, denomination) is reflected in the swap terms.
asset-backed security / Asset-Backed Security / asset-backed security / asset-backed security Abbr.: ABS. Bond-like instrument backed by a pool of financial claims such as mortgages or credit-card receivables which enables the originator to raise cash by borrowing against assets. Like with any fixed-income security, the investor is paid a coupon.
assets / Aktiven / actif / attivo Accounting term for everything a company owns that has monetary value, i.e. as shown in the balance sheet (liquid assets, receivables, property, plant and equipment, investments in associates, etc). Opposite: liabilities. See also easily realizable assets.
assignee / Zessionar / cessionnaire / cessionario The acquirer of title or interest transferred by an assignor.
assignment / Zession / cession / cessione The transfer of a claim by written contract between the creditor (assignor) and the party acquiring the claim (assignee). See also blanket assignment, endorsement, undisclosed assignment, assignment in blank.
assignment credit / Zessionskredit / crédit contre cession / credito contro cessione Book credit secured against the fiduciary assignment of existing receivables. See also discount credit.
assignment in blank / Blankozession / cession en blanc / cessione in bianco Assignment or detailed specification of assignee. With a separate assignment in blank the assignment is entered on a separate form. See also blank endorsement.
assignor / Zedent / cédant / cedente The person who transfers title or interest to a third party. See also assignment.
associated company / Beteiligungsgesellschaft / société de participation / società di partecipazione Company in which another company has a minority holding. See also holding company.
Top
At
at best; at market (USA) / bestens / au mieux / al meglio Also: unlimited. Order from a client for the purchase or sale of a security to be executed by the bank at the best possible price. No maximum or minimum price is prescribed. See also market order. Opposite: limited.
at market Synonym for at best.
at par / pari / pair / alla pari Indicates that the price of the instrument is equal to its face or nominal value. See also issue at par, par value price.
at the money / am Geld / à parité / at the money Situation where an option has an exercise price equal to or near the current price of the underlying. See also out of the money, in the money.
ATM / Geldausgabe-Automat / distributeur automatique de billets / distributore automatico di banconote Abbr. for automated teller machine. See Bancomat International.
Top
Au
auction / Auktion / vente aux enchères / asta Public sale in which goods or services are sold or bought in a bidding process.
Aussie bond / Aussie-Bond / aussie / aussie bond Bond issued by foreign borrowers and denominated in Australian dollars (AUD).
authentification; official certification Confirmation of the authenticity of a document, photocopy or signature by an authority or notary, without making any statement on the content. See also legalization, apostille.
authorized bank / ermächtigte Bank / banque habilitée / banca autorizzata Bank which, in addition to the central paying agency, has been given permission by public authorities or agencies to process decentralized payment transfers.
automated cash deposit machine / Geldeinzahlungs-Automat / appareil de versements automatiques / apparecchio automatico per il versamento di contanti Machine that accepts banknote deposits for payment into a customer's account. See Bancomat International.
Top
Av
aval Synonym for bill guarantee.
average Synonym for middle rate.
average due date / mittlerer Verfall / échéance moyenne / scadenza media Mean due date for several sums payable at different dates (frequently applies to a bill of exchange).
average price Synonym for middle rate.
average price method Synonym for averaging.
average term / mittlere Laufzeit / durée moyenne / durata media Maturity of a bond based on the average of the earliest and the latest possible redemption date.
averaging / Averaging / averaging / averaging Also: cost averaging. Strategy of investing fixed amounts in regular purchases of certain securities (equities, investment fund certificates), thereby achieving a lower average purchase price. Investing fixed amounts means that fewer securities are purchased when security prices go up and more are purchased when security prices go down.
B:
Ba
Bb
Be
Bi
Bl
Bo
Br
Bu
Bv
B/L Abbr. for bill of lading.
Ba
backtesting / Backtesting / contrôle a posteriori / backtesting Checking value-at-risk calculations and investment and hedge strategies against historic data. Backtesting enables the robustness of models to be tested under market conditions.
back-to-back credit Synonym for back-to-back documentary credit.
back-to-back documentary credit / Back-to-Back-Akkreditiv / crédit documentaire back to back / credito documentario back to back Also: counter credit, back-to-back credit. Documentary credit which is granted to another beneficiary on the basis of an existing, non-transferrable documentary credit (prime/master/original letter of credit). Back-to-back credits are commonly used by middlemen when the original credit cannot be transferred and/or the terms of the two credits are not the same.
backwardation / Deport / déport / backwardation (1) Payment made to carry forward short positions.
(2) Situation in which the spot price of a currency plus the cost of rent and interest exceeds the forward price. Opposite: contango.
backwardation business / Deportgeschäft / opération de déport / operazione di backwardation Extension of a short position until the next settlement date of the securities market, where the bank delivers the securities on a loan basis on the originally agreed settlement date and charges the client the relevant commission. Opposite: contango.
bad debt risk / Delkredere-Risiko / risque ducroire / rischio delcredere Risk that a debtor may be unwilling or unable to repay. The credit risk is particularly high in the area of foreign trade due to legislative differences between countries. See also credit risk.
balance / Saldo / solde / saldo The difference between the sum of all credit items and all debit items in an account.
balance an account / saldieren / clore / saldare Also: close an account. To calculate the balance of an account accrued up to the closing date, including interest and expenses.
balance brought forward / Saldovortrag / report de solde / riporto a nuovo Balance brought (carried) forward from one accounting period to the next.
balance of payments / Zahlungsbilanz / balance des paiements / bilancia dei pagamenti Balance-sheet-like record of all cross-border payments of a country during a given period. The balance of payments includes current transactions in respect of goods (foreign trade) and services (including income on investments) on the one hand, and capital transactions (direct and portfolio investments, etc.) on the other. Not a balance sheet in the strict accounting sense, it is instead more akin to a current account. See also current account balance.
balance of trade / Handelsbilanz / balance commerciale / bilancia commerciale The net difference between the value of a country's exports and imports of merchandise, with exports listed on the assets side and imports on the liabilities side. The balance of trade is positive (in surplus) if exports exceed imports, and negative (in deficit) if the reverse is the case.
balance sheet / Bilanz / bilan / bilancio A statement of the assets and liabilities of a business at a given time. The assets side of the balance sheet provides information on the use of funds whereas the liabilities side details the procurement of funds (financing). In Switzerland, the preparation of balance sheets is governed by a detailed body of regulations.
balance sheet analysis / Bilanzanalyse / analyse de bilan / analisi di bilancio Assessment of the figures and ratios in the balance sheet and income statement (profit and loss account) in order to appraise the standing and creditworthiness of a company or to evaluate the securities it has issued for investment purposes. See also securities analysis.