Financial Institutions and Market: (ACFN, 2 Credit Hour)
Financial Institutions and Market: (ACFN, 2 Credit Hour)
3. debt securities.
Characteristics of Financial Assets
They are promises to future returns to their
owners.
They serve as a store of value/store of
purchasing power.
They cannot be depreciated or do not wear &
tear over time. Moreover, their physical
condition is not relevant in determining their
market value.
Cont’d
They are represented by a piece of paper that serves
as a contract.
They do have little and/or no value as a commodity.
They do have low (or minimal) transport & storage
costs relative to their value.
They are fungible, that is, easily changed inform
Debt vs. Equity Instruments
1. Moneyness
2. Divisibility and denomination
3. Reversibility
4. Cash flows and return predictability
5. Term of maturity
6. Convertibility
7. Currency
8. Liquidity
9. Complexity
10. Tax status
2. Financial Intermediaries
•The term financial intermediary includes all
kinds of organizations which intermediate and
facilitate financial transactions of both individual
and corporate customers.
•Financial intermediaries obtain funds by issuing
financial claims against themselves to market
participants, then investing those funds.
Cont’d
•Thus, it refers to all kinds of financial institutions and
investing institutions, which facilitate financial
transactions in financial markets.
•Financial intermediaries include depository institutions,
regulated investment companies, investment banks, and
insurance companies.
Cont’d
• The role of financial intermediaries is to create
more favorable transaction terms than could be
realized by lenders/investors and borrowers dealing
directly with each other in the financial market.
• This is accomplished by financial intermediaries in
a two-step process:
(1)obtaining funds from lenders or investors and
(2) lending or investing the funds that they borrow to
those who need funds.
Economic Functions of Financial
Intermediaries
Maturity intermediation
Risk reduction via diversification
Cost reduction for contracting and information
processing
Providing a Payments Mechanism
3. Financial Markets
• A financial market is a market where financial
instruments are exchanged.
• A financial market is a market in which funds are
transferred from people who have an excess of
available funds to people who have a shortage.
• They facilitate buying and selling of financial assets.
• Financial markets such as bond and stock markets are
crucial to promoting greater economic efficiency by
channeling funds from people who do not have a
productive use for them to those who do.
Cont’d
Financial markets provide the following three
major economic functions:
Price discovery
Liquidity
Reduced transaction costs
Classification of financial markets
1. Classification by type of financial claim
A. Equity (Stock) market
B. Debt market
2. Classification by maturity of claim
C. Money market
D. Capital market
3. Classification by origin
E. Primary Market
F. Secondary Market
4. Classification by organizational structure
G. Auction market
H. Over the counter (OCT) market
Cont’d
5. Other Classifications
A. Foreign exchange markets: which facilitate
the trading of foreign exchange
B. Insurance markets : which facilitate the
redistribution of various risk
C. Derivatives markets: which provide
instruments for the management of financial
risk (eg. Forward, future and options)
Functions of the Financial System
There are seven basic functions of the financial system in
modern society. These are:
1. Savings Function
2. Wealth Function (store of value)
3. Liquidity Function
4. Credit Function
5. Payments Function
6. Risk Function; and
7. Policy Function
Financial System and Economic Development