Information about Financial System

An economy's financial system exists to organize the settlement of payments, to raise and allocate finance, and to manage the risks associated with financing and exchange.

A developed financial system is one that has a secure and efficient payment system, security markets and financial intermediaries that arrange financing, and derivative markets and financial institutions that provide access to risk management instruments.

Settlement system

The settlement and closing system operates to settle transactions. A transaction is settled when the seller has supplied the specific item and received the agreed amount of value. The main features of payments systems are payment instruments and a centralized process for the providers of payment services to exchange the funds involved. Deposit-taking institutions play the dominant role in providing payment services. In many countries these institutions have to be authorised as authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs).

Separate systems have been developed to settled retail transactions and wholesale transactions. Retail systems have to handle a large volume of mostly small transactions. There will be a range of processing systems because of the range of retail payment instruments. A large number of retail transactions is made with cash, predominantly in the form of legal tender (banknotes and coins), but also increasingly electronic money. However, payment instructions are used to settle most retail transactions in value terms.

A payment instruction settles a transaction by authorizing the transfer of funds that are held in an account with an ADI. Such instructions may be in the form of a paper-based instrument like a cheque or an electronic funds transfer. Electronic payment instructions debit the payer's account and credit the payee's account at the time of transaction, after which there is an inter-ADI transfer of exchange settlement funds held with the central bank. Paper-based instruments may also require the additional step of signature verification.

In comparison with retail payments, wholesale payments account for a much larger share of the aggregate amount paid. These payments are mainly through financial market transactions, such as the foreign exchange and bond markets. The wholesale system has very few participants, most of which are banks and securities companies that have exchange settlement accounts with the central bank.

Because the payment system provides a platform for the conduct of business and commercial exchange within the economy, its efficiency and stability is an important precondition for the economy's performance. An efficient system encourages competition in the supply of payment services so as to provide a range of convenient and low-cost payment methods. A stable system provides a safe haven for the funds held for transaction purposes and secure methods for settling transactions. Stability is maintained through prudent management of operating risks in the use of depositors' funds.

Financing system

The financing system has two general roles — to mobilize surplus funds from people and organizations, and to allocate them among deficit people and organizations. An investor is an example of a surplus unit, whereas a borrower is an example of a deficit unit. Mobilizing funds generates returns for surplus units, which generally enhances their wealth and economic well-being. It also allows deficit units to enhance their productive and purchasing capacities, and thus improves an economy's production and consumption potential.

Funds are mobilized either as debt or equity. Debt funds are supplied as a loan and generally the repayments are scheduled, whereas equity funds acquire part ownership of a business and their returns depend on the future profitability of the business.

The financing process allows prospective users of funds to compete for them and creates the incentive for funds to be supplied. In essence, the financial system should ensure the supply of funds when their use has a net present value. That is, the user of the funds expects to earn a return that exceeds the returns paid to the supplier of the funds.

There are at least two fundamental problems that must be solved by the financing system. First, deficit units seek funds for terms that, on average, are longer than the periods for which funds are supplied by surplus units, posing the problem of a maturity mismatch between the supply and demand for funds. This means that financing processes have to be able to transform the maturity of funds - a process referred to as maturity transformation. Second, financing processes have to develop means for coping with the risks faced by the suppliers of funds.

The financing process requires the comprehensive disclosure of relevant information to allow investors and other suppliers of funds to assess the risks and expected returns associated with the proposed use of funds.

Indirect financing

In the indirect process, known also as financial intermediation, funds are raised by deposit-taking institutions and then lent to borrowers. The funds raised are generally in the form of deposits. To attract current deposits, ADIs mainly provide payment services, which are part of the payment system discussed above. To attract savings deposits, ADIs mainly provide a secure place for funds and a reasonable rate of interest. Savings accounts impose almost no transaction costs for depositors and this partly justifies their modest interest rates. Wholesale deposits mainly take the form of certificates of deposit, which are large-value deposits that have a fixed term and are paid a fixed rate of interest.

ADIs provide depositors with liquidity and borrowers with loans for specified terms. Typically, the average term of deposits with ADIs is much shorter than the average term of their loans. Hence, ADIs have to cope with the maturity mismatch between their assets and liabilities. Maturity transformation exposes ADIs to liquidity risk.

ADIs, as a group, make loans that range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of millions of dollars. Because their charges are generally related to the scale of borrowing, they are the main providers of small-value loans. Large loans generally can be arranged more cheaply in percentage terms by the banks that issue securities than by ADIs. Aside from their loans, ADIs invest a small proportion of their deposits in securities that can be readily sold should funds be required. In some countries, the central bank holds a percentage of ADI funds to ensure that they are able to raise cash in an emergency.

The ADI's income from indirect financing is earned from its interest rate spread (the difference between their lending and borrowing rates). This spread compensates the ADI for the risks it accepts, one of which is the credit risk posed by its borrowers. ADIs transform the risks faced by depositors (risk transformation) by accepting the credit risk posed by borrowers. Typically, an ADI sets its base rate (called its prime or reference rate) and charges each borrower a premium over this rate, depending on the borrower's risk. Non-performing loans result in a reduction in the ADI's net-interest income.

Direct financing

The development of security markets has created an alternative financing process. In the direct process, funds are raised directly from investors through the issue of securities. The issue of securities by financial institutions is a specialized activity known as underwriting that is most economically undertaken in wholesale amounts. Financial institutions that issue securities may also manage funds on behalf of investors and thus have a ready market for the securities.

The main approach to deal with risk within direct financing is to compensate investors for accepting risk. Given that the suppliers of funds are risk averse, the mobilization and allocation of funds will reflect a risk-return relationship. The greater the risk, the greater the required return.

Risk management

Since the early 1980s, a system has evolved in developed financial systems that is composed of products and instruments that can be used to manage the risks posed by financing.

The main instruments that are used for removing risk (hedging) are forward contracts and derivatives. The use of these instruments is not restricted to hedging; they are used also for investment and speculation. A risk is hedged when another transaction serves to cover the exposure to an unexpected movement. Speculation occurs when a trader takes an unhedged position in a market.

Financial institutions

In developed financial systems, ADIs commonly undertake activities in addition to those associated with indirect financing. Consequently, ADIs are usually part of financial institutions or "conglomerates" that provide a range of financial services. Economies of scope encourage all ADIs to sell other financial services to their customers.

Financial markets

The foreign exchange market serves to link the payment systems in each country.

See also

References

economy is the system of human activities related to the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area.

The composition of a given economy is inseparable from technological evolution, civilization's history and social
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Finance studies and addresses the ways in which individuals, businesses, and organizations raise, allocate, and use monetary resources over time, taking into account the risks entailed in their projects.
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A payment system are the procedures and associated computer networks used to settle financial transactions in bond markets, currency markets, and futures, derivatives and options markets, and to transfer funds between financial institutions.
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security is a fungible, negotiable instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into debt securities, such as bonds and debentures, and equity securities, e.g. common stocks. The company or other entity issuing the security is called the issuer.
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derivative is a measurement of how a function changes when the values of its inputs change. Loosely speaking, a derivative can be thought of as how much a quantity is changing at some given point.
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In financial economics, a financial institution acts as an agent that provides financial services for its clients. Financial institutions generally fall under financial regulation from a government authority.
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Risk management is the human activity which integrates recognition of risk, risk assessment, developing strategies to manage it, and mitigation of risk using managerial resources.
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Settlement (of securities) is the process whereby securities or interests in securities are delivered, usually against payment, to fulfill contractual obligations, such as those arising under securities trades.
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Sales are the activities involved in providing products or services in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity.[1]
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In general, the economic value of something is how much a product or service is worth to someone relative to other things (often measured in money).

It can be either an assessment of what it could or should be the price (valuation), or an explanation
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In Australia, Authorised Deposit-Taking Institutions (ADIs) are corporations which are authorised under the Banking Act of 1959 to take deposits from customers.

ADIs include banks, building societies and credit unions.
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Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise, from a fixed location such as a department store or kiosk, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser.[1] Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery.
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Wholesaling is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers, to industrial, commercial, institutional, or other professional business users, or to other wholesalers and related subordinated services.
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Cash usually refers to money in the form of liquid currency, such as banknotes or coins.

Etymology

The English word cash is of the French , itself a borrowing of the Provençal caissa.
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Legal tender or forced tender is payment that, by law, cannot be refused in settlement of a debt denominated in the same currency.

Legal tender is a status which may be conferred on certain examples of money, which may depend on circumstances including the amount of
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banknote (often known as a bill or simply note) is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and under many jurisdictions is used as legal tender.
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COIN can refer to:
  • Collaborative Innovation Networks
  • Counterinsurgency
  • Coin



This article is about monetary coins.

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Electronic money (also known as electronic cash, electronic currency, digital money, digital cash or digital currency) refers to money or scrip which is exchanged only electronically.
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cheque (also spelled check - see Etymology and spelling) is a negotiable instrument[1] instructing a financial institution to pay a specific amount of a specific currency from a specific demand account held in the maker/depositor's name with that institution.
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Electronic funds transfer or EFT refers to the computer-based systems used to perform financial transactions electronically.

The term is used for a number of different concepts:

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Economic policy
Monetary policy
Central bank   Money supply
Fiscal policy
Spending   Deficit   Debt
Trade policy
Tariff   Trade agreement

Finance
Financial market
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signature (from Latin signare, "sign") is a handwritten (and sometimes stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname or even a simple "X" that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory.
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Competition is the rivalry of two or more parties over something. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which coexist in an environment with limited resources. For example, animals compete over water supplies, food, and mates.
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operational risk is defined as the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems, or from external events. Although the risks apply to any organisation in business it is of particular relevance to the banking regime where regulators are
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An investor is any party that makes an investment.

The term has taken on a specific meaning in finance to describe the particular types of people and companies that regularly purchase equity or debt securities for financial gain in exchange for funding an expanding company.
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Debt is that which is owed; usually referencing assets owed, but the term can cover other obligations. In the case of assets, debt is a means of using future purchasing power in the present before a summation has been earned.
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At the start of a business, owners put some funding into the business to finance assets. Businesses can be considered for accounting purposes to be sums of liabilities and assets; this is the accounting equation.
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Net present value (NPV) is a standard method for the financial appraisal of long-term projects. Used for capital budgeting, and widely throughout economics, it measures the excess or shortfall of cash flows, in present value (PV) terms, once financing charges are met.
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Maturity refers to the final payment date of a loan or other financial instrument, at which point all remaining interest and is due to be paid.

1, 3, 6 months maturity band can be calculated by using 30-day per month periods.
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Disclosure means the giving out of information, either voluntarily or to be in compliance with legal regulations or workplace rules.

Information

  • In Computer security, full disclosure means disclosing full information about vulnerabilities.

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