From banking perspective Nostro and Vostro accounts are bank’s accounts with other banks. These accounts serve the purpose of clearing when the banks act as custodians. Let us now define these accounts:
Nostro/Vostro: Nostro accounts are those accounts held by banks with another bank. Sample scenario would be when Citibank India has an account with HSBC india, then this account is a Nostro for Citibank. But this same account is said to be a Vostro account for HSBC.
Every bank maintains Nostro accounts with other banks to serve the purpose of fund transfer in case of clearing and settlement. This is also in case of investment banks that act as global and local custodians for individuals and high net-worth investers.
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The effective annual rate of return taking into account the effect of compounding interest. APY is calculated by:
The resultant percentage number assumes that funds will remain in the investment vehicle for a full 365 days.
The APY is similar in nature to the annual percentage rate. Its usefulness lies in its ability to standardize varying interest-rate agreements into an annualized percentage number. For example, suppose you are considering whether to invest in a one-year zero-coupon bond that pays 6% upon maturity or a high-yield money market account that pays 0.5% per month with monthly compounding.
At first glance, the yields appear equal because 12 months multiplied by 0.5% equals 6%. However, when the effects of compounding are included by calculating the APY, we find that the second investment actually yields 6.17%, as 1.005^12-1 = 0.0617.
Loans or credit agreements can vary in terms of interest-rate structure, transaction fees, late penalties and other factors. A standardized computation such as the APR provides borrowers with a bottom-line number they can easily compare to rates charged by other potential lenders.
By law, credit card companies and loan issuers must show customers the APR to facilitate a clear understanding of the actual rates applicable to their agreements. Credit card companies are allowed advertise interest rates on a monthly basis (e.g. 2% per month), but are also required to clearly state the APR to customers before any agreement is signed. For example, a credit card company might charge 1% a month, but the APR is 1% x 12 months = 12%. This differs from annual percentage yield, which also takes compound interest into account.
Interest that is calculated under the assumption that any interest paid is combined with the original balance and the next interest payment will be based on the slightly higher account balance. Overall, this means that interest can be compounded several times in a year depending on the number of times that interest payments are made.
In the United Kingdom, the amount of interest received from savings accounts is listed in AER form.
Calculated as:
Where:
n = number of times a year that interest is paid
r = gross interest rate
An accounting entry that represents an entity’s obligation to pay off a short-term debt to its creditors. The accounts payable entry is found on a balance sheet under the heading current liabilities. Accounts payable are often referred to as “payables”.
Another common usage of AP refers to a business department or division that is responsible for making payments owed by the company to suppliers and other creditors.
Accounts payable are debts that must be paid off within a given period of time in order to avoid default. For example, at the corporate level, AP refers to short-term debt payments to suppliers and banks.
Payables are not limited to corporations. At the household level, people are also subject to bill payment for goods or services provided to them by creditors. For example, the phone company, the gas company and the cable company are types of creditors. Each one of these creditors provide a service first and then bills the customer after the fact. The payable is essentially a short-term IOU from a customer to the creditor.
Each demands payment for goods or services rendered and must be paid accordingly. If people or companies don’t pay their bills, they are considered to be in default.
What Does January Effect Mean?
A general increase in stock prices during the month of January. This rally is generally attributed to an increase in buying, which follows the drop in price that typically happens in December when investors, seeking to create tax losses to offset capital gains, prompt a sell-off.
The January effect is said to affect small caps more than mid or large caps. This historical trend, however, has been less pronounced in recent years because the markets have adjusted for it. Another reason the January effect is now considered less important is that more people are using tax-sheltered retirement plans and therefore have no reason to sell at the end of the year for a tax loss.
What is a Bank?
A banker or bank is a financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money. The first modern bank was founded in Italy in Genoa in 1406, its name was Banco di San Giorgio (Bank of St. George).
Many other financial activities were added over time. For example banks are important players in financial markets and offer financial services such as investment funds. In some countries such as Germany, banks are the primary owners of industrial corporations while in other countries such as the United States banks are prohibited from owning non-financial companies. In Japan, banks are usually the nexus of cross share holding entity known as zaibatsu. In France “Bancassurance” is highly present, as most banks offer insurance services (and now real estate services) to their clients.
History
Banks have influenced economies and politics for centuries. Historically, the primary purpose of a bank was to provide loans to trading companies. Banks provided funds to allow businesses to purchase inventory, and collected those funds back with interest when the goods were sold. For centuries, the banking industry only dealt with businesses, not consumers. Banking services have expanded to include services directed at individuals, and risk in these much smaller transactions are pooled.
Origin of the word
The name bank derives from the Italian word banco “desk/bench”, used during the Renaissance by Florentines bankers, who used to make their transactions above a desk covered by a green tablecloth. However, there are traces of banking activity even in ancient times.
In fact, the word traces its origins back to the Ancient Roman Empire, where moneylenders would set up their stalls in the middle of enclosed courtyards called macella on a long bench called a bancu, from which the words banco and bank are derived. As a moneychanger, the merchant at the bancu did not so much invest money as merely convert the foreign currency into the only legal tender in Rome that of the Imperial Mint
What are the different types of Banks?
Commercial bank: The term used for a normal bank to distinguish it from an investment bank. After the Great Depression, the U.S. Congress required that banks only engage in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. Since the two no longer have to be under separate ownership, some use the term “commercial bank” to refer to a bank or a division of a bank that mostly deals with deposits and loans from corporations or large businesses.
Community Banks: These are locally operated financial institutions that empower employees to make local decisions to serve their customers and the partners Community development banks: Community Development banks are regulated banks that provide financial services and credit to under-served markets or populations.
Postal savings banks: Postal savings banks are associated with national postal systems.
Private banks: Private banks are manage the assets of high net worth individuals.
Offshore banks: Offshore banks are located in jurisdictions with low taxation and regulation. Many offshore banks are essentially private banks.
Savings bank: In Europe, savings banks take their roots in the 19th or sometimes even 18th century. Their original objective was to provide easily accessible savings products to all strata of the population. In some countries, savings banks were created on public initiative, while in others socially committed individuals created foundations to put in place the necessary infrastructure. Nowadays, European savings banks have kept their focus on retail banking: payments, savings products, credits and insurances for individuals or small and medium-sized enterprises. Apart from this retail focus, they also differ from commercial banks by their broadly decentralized distribution network, providing local and regional outreach and by their socially responsible approach to business and society.
Building societies and Landesbanks: conduct retail banking.
Ethical banks: Ethical banks are those banks that prioritize the transparency of all operations and make only what they consider to be socially-responsible investments.
Islamic banks: Islamic Banks are those banks that transact according to Islamic principles.
What are the different Banking Channels?
A branch banking centre or financial centre is a retail location where a bank or financial institution offers a wide array of face-to-face service to its customers
ATM is a computerized telecommunications device that provides a financial institution’s customers a method of financial transactions in a public space without the need for a human clerk or bank teller. Most banks now have more ATMs than branches, and ATMs are providing a wider range of services to a wider range of users. For example in Hong Kong, most ATMs enable anyone to deposit cash to any customer of the bank’s account by feeding in the notes and entering the account number to be credited. Also, most ATMs enable card holders from other banks to get their account balance and withdraw cash, even if the card is issued by a foreign bank.
Mail is part of the postal system which itself is a system wherein written documents typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages containing other matter, are delivered to destinations around the world. This can be used to deposit cheques and to send orders to the bank to pay money to third parties. Banks also normally use mail to deliver periodic account statements to customers.
Telephone banking is a service provided by a financial institution which allows its customers to perform transactions over the telephone. This normally includes bill payments for bills from major billers (e.g. for electricity).
Online banking is a term used for performing transactions, payments etc. over the Internet through a bank, credit union or building society’s secure website.
Mobile Banking has become increasing popular with wireless technology catching up every nock and corer. With the use of the latest secure wireless access protocol mobile banking is the next step is self service channel.
Have a look at our FOCUS banking module wiring diagram to understand better.
A company that invests its clients’ pooled fund into securities that match its declared financial objectives. Asset management companies provide investors with more diversification and investing options than they would have by themselves.
Mutual funds, hedge funds and pension plans are all run by asset management companies. These companies earn income by charging service fees to their clients.
AMCs offer their clients more diversification because they have a larger pool of resources than the individual investor. Pooling assets together and paying out proportional returns allows investors to avoid minimum investment requirements often required when purchasing securities on their own, as well as the ability to invest in a larger set of securities with a smaller investment.
debt investment in which an investor loans money to an entity (corporate or governmental) that borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a fixed interest rate. Bonds are used by companies, municipalities, states and U.S. and foreign governments to finance a variety of projects and activities.
Bonds are commonly referred to as fixed-income securities and are one of the three main asset classes, along with stocks and cash equivalents..
The indebted entity (issuer) issues a bond that states the interest rate (coupon) that will be paid and when the loaned funds (bond principal) are to be returned (maturity date). Interest on bonds is usually paid every six months (semi-annually). The main categories of bonds are corporate bonds, municipal bonds, and U.S. Treasury bonds, notes and bills, which are collectively referred to as simply “Treasuries”.
Two features of a bond – credit quality and duration – are the principal determinants of a bond’s interest rate. Bond maturities range from a 90-day Treasury bill to a 30-year government bond. Corporate and municipals are typically in the three to 10-year range.
An investment vehicle that is made up of a pool of funds collected from many investors for the purpose of investing in securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets. Mutual funds are operated by money mangers, who invest the fund’s capital and attempt to produce capital gains and income for the fund’s investors. A mutual fund’s portfolio is structured and maintained to match the investment objectives stated in its prospectus.
One of the main advantages of mutual funds is that they give small investors access to professionally managed, diversified portfolios of equities, bonds and other securities, which would be quite difficult (if not impossible) to create with a small amount of capital. Each shareholder participates proportionally in the gain or loss of the fund. Mutual fund units, or shares, are issued and can typically be purchased or redeemed as needed at the fund’s current net asset value (NAV) per share, which is sometimes expressed as NAVPS.
Arun Vijayaraghavan is a Senior QA working for one of the world's largest Investment Banks. Arun has extensive experience in Retail Banking, Investment banking and non-life insurance domains.
