1 / 22

Currency and Interest Rate Swaps

Currency and Interest Rate Swaps. 10 Chapter Ten. Chapter Objective: This chapter discusses currency and interest rate swaps, which are relatively new instruments for hedging long-term interest rate risk and foreign exchange risk. Chapter Outline: Types of Swaps Size of the Swap Market

zanna
Download Presentation

Currency and Interest Rate Swaps

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Currency and Interest Rate Swaps 10Chapter Ten • Chapter Objective: • This chapter discusses currency and interest rate swaps, which are relatively new instruments for hedging long-term interest rate risk and foreign exchange risk. Chapter Outline: • Types of Swaps • Size of the Swap Market • The Swap Bank • Interest Rate Swaps • Currency Swaps

  2. Swap Market • In a swap, two counterparties agree to a contractual arrangement wherein they agree to exchange cash flows at periodic intervals. • There are two basic types of swaps: • Single Currency Interest rate swap • “Plain vanilla” fixed-for-floating swaps in one currency. • Cross Currency Interest Rate Swap (Currency swap) • Fixed for fixed rate debt service in two (or more) currencies. • 2006 Notional Principal for: • Interest rate swaps: US$ 229.2 trillion !! • Currency swaps: US$ 10.8 trillion • The most popular currencies are: US$, Yen, Euro, SF, BP

  3. The Swap Bank • A swap bank is a generic term to describe a financial institution that facilitates swaps between counterparties. • The swap bank can serve as either a broker or a dealer. • As a broker, the swap bank matches counterparties but does not assume any of the risks of the swap. • As a dealer, the swap bank stands ready to accept either side of a currency swap, and then later lay off their risk, or match it with a counterparty.

  4. Interest Rate Swap • Used by companies and banks that require either fixed or floating-rate debt. • Interest rate swaps allow the companies (or banks) and the swap bank to benefit by swapping fixed-for-floating interest payments. • Since principal is in the same currency and the same amount, only interest payments are exchanged (net).

  5. Interest Rate Swap • Each party will issue the less advantageous form of debt. Swap Bank Pay fixed Pay floating Company A prefers floating Company B prefers fixed Receive Floating Receive fixed Issue floating Issue fixed

  6. An Example of an Interest Rate Swap • Bank A is a AAA-rated international bank located in the UK and wishes to raise $10M to finance floating-rate Eurodollar loans. • It would make more sense for the bank to issue floating-rate notes at LIBOR to finance floating-rate Eurodollar loans. • Bank A can issue 5-year fixed-rate Eurodollar bonds at 10 % • Firm B is a BBB-rated U.S. company. It needs $10 M to finance an investment with a five-year economic life. • Firm B can issue 5-year fixed-rate Eurodollar bonds at 11.75 % • Alternatively, firm B can raise the money by issuing 5-year floating-rate notes at LIBOR + 0.50 percent. • Firm B would prefer to borrow at a fixed rate because it locks in a financing cost. The borrowing opportunities of the two firms are:

  7. The Quality Spread Differential • QSD represents the potential gains from the swap that can be shared between the counterparties and the swap bank. • QSD arises because of a difference in default risk premiums for fixed (usually larger) and floating rate (usually smaller) instruments for parties with different credit ratings • There is no reason to presume that the gains will be shared equally, usually the company with the higher credit rating will take more of the QSD. • In the above example, company B is less credit-worthy than bank A, so they probably would have gotten less of the QSD, in order to compensate the swap bank for the default risk.

  8. 10.50% LIBOR An Example of an Interest Rate Swap Swap Bank The swap bank makes this offer to Bank A: You pay LIBOR per year on $10 million for 5 years and we will pay you 10.50% on $10 million for 5 years Bank A Issue $10M debt at 10% fixed-rate

  9. 10.50% LIBOR 10% An Example of an Interest Rate Swap 0.50% of $10,000,000 = $50,000. That’s quite a cost savings per year for 5 years. Here’s what’s in it for Bank A: Bank A can borrow externally at 10% fixed and have a net borrowing position of -10.50% + 10% + LIBOR = LIBOR – 0.50% which is 0.50 % better than they can borrow floating without a swap. Swap Bank Bank A

  10. 10.75% LIBOR An Example of an Interest Rate Swap Swap Bank The swap bank makes this offer to company B: You pay us 10.75% per year on $10 million for 5 years and we will pay you LIBOR per year on $10 million for 5 years. Company B Issue $10M debt at LIBOR+0.50% floating-rate

  11. 10.75% LIBOR An Example of an Interest Rate Swap 0.5 % of $10,000,000 = $50,000 that’s quite a cost savings per year for 5 years. Swap Bank Here’s what’s in it for Firm B: Firm B can borrow externally at LIBOR + .50 % and have a net borrowing position of 10.75 + (LIBOR + .50 ) - LIBOR = 11.25% which is 0.50 % better than they can borrow floating (11.75%). Company B LIBOR + .50%

  12. 10.50% 10.75% LIBOR LIBOR An Example of an Interest Rate Swap .25% of $10 million = $25,000 per year for 5 years. The swap bank makes money too. Swap Bank Bank A Company B LIBOR+10.75%– LIBOR-10.50%=0.25%

  13. 10.50% 10.75% LIBOR LIBOR An Example of an Interest Rate Swap The swap bank makes .25% Swap Bank Bank A Company B A saves .50% B saves .50%

  14. Example: Interest Rate Swap • Company A can borrow at 8% fixed or LIBOR + 1% floating (borrows fixed) • Company B can borrow at 9.5% fixed or LIBOR + .5% (borrows floating) • Company A prefers floating and Company B prefers fixed • By entering into the swap agreements, both A and B are better off then they would be borrowing from the bank and the swap dealer makes .5%

  15. Currency Swaps • Most often used when companies make cross-border capital investments or projects. • Ex., U.S. parent company wants to finance a project undertaken by its subsidiary in Germany. Project proceeds would be used to pay interest and principal. • Options: • Borrow US$ and convert to Euro – exposes company to exchange rate risk. • Borrow in Germany – rate available may not be as good as that in the U.S. if the subsidiary is relatively unknown. • Find a counterparty and set up a currency swap.

  16. Currency Swaps • Typically, a company should have a comparative advantage in borrowing locally issue local issue local Swap Bank pay foreign Pay foreign Company A Company B Receive local Receive local Issue local Issue local

  17. An Example of a Currency Swap • Suppose a U.S. MNC wants to finance a €40,000,000 expansion of a German plant. • They could borrow dollars in the U.S. where they are well known and exchange for dollars for euros. • This will give them exchange rate risk: financing a euro project with dollars. • They could borrow euro in the international bond market, but pay a premium since they are not as well known abroad. • If they can find a German MNC with a mirror-image financing need they may both benefit from a swap. • If the spot exchange rate is S0($/ €) = $1.30/ €, the U.S. firm needs to find a German firm wanting to finance dollar borrowing in the amount of $52,000,000.

  18. An Example of a Currency Swap • Consider two firms A and B: firm A is a U.S.–based multinational and firm B is a Germany–based multinational. • Both firms wish to finance a project in each other’s country of the same size. Their borrowing opportunities are given in the table below.

  19. $8% $8% € 6% € 6% $8% € 6% An Example of a Currency Swap Annual Interest $4.16M Swap Bank Annual Interest $4.16M Firm A Firm B Annual Interest €2.4M Annual Interest €2.4M Borrow $52M Borrow €40M

  20. $8% $8% € 6% € 6% $8% € 6% An Example of a Currency Swap A’s net position is to borrow at € 6% B’s net position is to borrow at $8% Swap Bank Firm A Firm B $52M €40M

  21. Swap Market Quotations • Swap banks will tailor the terms of interest rate and currency swaps to customers’ needs. They also make a market in “plain vanilla” and currency swaps and provide quotes for these. Since the swap banks are dealers for these swaps, there is a bid-ask spread. • Interest Rate Swap Example: • Swap bank terms: USD: 2.50 – 2.65 Means that the bank is willing to pay fixed-rate 2.50% interest against receiving LIBOR OR bank is willing to receive fixed-rate 2.65% against paying LIBOR. • Currency Swap Example: • Swap bank terms: USD 2.50 – 2.65 Euro 3.25 – 3.50 Means that bank is willing to make fixed rate USD payments at 2.5% in return for receiving fixed rate Euro at 3.5% OR the bank is willing to receive fixed-rate USD at 2.65% in return for making fixed-rate Euro payments at 3.25%

  22. Risks of Interest Rate and Currency Swaps Interest Rate Risk • Interest rates might move against the swap bank after it has only gotten half of a swap on the books, or if it has an unhedged position. Basis Risk • Floating rates of the two counterparties being pegged to two different indices Exchange rate Risk • Exchange rates might move against the swap bank after it has only gotten half of a swap set up. Credit Risk • This is the major risk faced by a swap dealer—the risk that a counter party will default on its end of the swap. Mismatch Risk • It’s hard to find a counterparty that wants to borrow the right amount of money for the right amount of time. Sovereign Risk • The risk that a country will impose exchange rate restrictions that will interfere with performance on the swap.

More Related