Chapter

11
Managing Transaction Exposure

South-Western/Thomson Learning © 2006

 Chapter Objectives
 To identify the commonly used
techniques for hedging transaction
exposure;
 To show how each technique can be used
to hedge future payables and receivables;
 To compare the pros and cons of the
different hedging techniques; and
 To suggest other methods of reducing
exchange rate risk.

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 Transaction Exposure
• Transaction exposure exists when the
future cash transactions of a firm are
affected by exchange rate fluctuations.
• When transaction exposure exists, the
firm faces three major tasks:
 Identify its degree of transaction exposure.
 Decide whether to hedge this exposure.
 Choose a hedging technique if it decides
to hedge part or all of the exposure.

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 Transaction Exposure
• To identify net transaction exposure, a
centralized group consolidates all
subsidiary reports to compute the
expected net positions in each foreign
currency for the entire MNC.
• Note that sometimes, a firm may be able to
reduce its transaction exposure by pricing
its exports in the same currency that it will
use to pay for its imports.

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 Techniques to Eliminate
Transaction Exposure
• Hedging techniques include:
¤ Futures hedge,
¤ Forward hedge,
¤ Money market hedge, and
¤ Currency option hedge.
• MNCs will normally compare the cash flows
that would be expected from each hedging
technique before determining which
technique to apply.

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 Futures and Forward Hedges
• A futures hedge uses currency futures,
while a forward hedge uses forward
contracts, to lock in the future exchange
rate.
• Recall that forward contracts are
commonly negotiated for large
transactions, while the standardized
futures contracts tend to be used for
smaller amounts.

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 Futures and Forward Hedges
• To hedge future payables (receivables), a
firm may purchase (sell) currency futures, or
negotiate a forward contract to purchase
(sell) the currency forward.
• The hedge-versus-no-hedge decision can be
made by comparing the known result of
hedging to the possible results of remaining
unhedged, and taking into consideration the
firm’s degree of risk aversion.

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 Futures and Forward Hedges
• The real cost of hedging measures the
additional expenses beyond those incurred
without hedging.
• Real cost of hedging payables (RCHp) =
nominal cost of payables with hedging –
nominal cost of payables without hedging
• Real cost of hedging receivables (RCHr) =
nominal revenues received without hedging
– nominal revenues received with hedging

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 Futures and Forward Hedges
• If the real cost of hedging is negative, then
hedging is more favorable than not
hedging.
• To compute the expected value of the real
cost of hedging, first develop a probability
distribution for the future spot rate. Then
use it to develop a probability distribution
for the real cost of hedging.

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The Real Cost of Hedging for Each £ in Payables
Nominal Cost Nominal Cost Real Cost
Probability With Hedging Without Hedging of Hedging
5% $1.40 $1.30 $0.10
10 $1.40 $1.32 $0.08
15 $1.40 $1.34 $0.06
20 $1.40 $1.36 $0.04
20 $1.40 $1.38 $0.02
15 $1.40 $1.40 $0.00
10 $1.40 $1.42 – $0.02
5 $1.40 $1.45 – $0.05

For each £ in payables,

expected RCH =  Pi RCHi = $0.0295
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The Real Cost of Hedging for Each £ in Payables
25%

20%
Probability

15%

10%

5%

0%
-$0.05 -$0.02 $0.00 $0.02 $0.04 $0.06 $0.08 $0.10

There is a 15% chance that the real cost of hedging

will be negative.

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 Futures and Forward Hedges

• If the forward rate is an accurate predictor

of the future spot rate, the real cost of
hedging will be zero.
• If the forward rate is an unbiased predictor
of the future spot rate, the real cost of
hedging will be zero on average.

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 Money Market Hedge

• A money market hedge involves taking a

money market position to cover a future
payables or receivables position.
• For payables:
 Borrow in the home currency (optional)
 Invest in the foreign currency
• For receivables:
 Borrow in the foreign currency
 Invest in the home currency (optional)

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 Money Market Hedge
A firm needs to pay NZ$1,000,000 in 30 days.

Borrows at 8.40%
1. Borrows for 30 days 3. Pays
$646,766 $651,293

Effective
Exchange at exchange rate
$0.6500/NZ$ $0.6513/NZ$
Lends at 6.00%
2. Holds for 30 days 3. Receives
NZ$995,025 NZ$1,000,000

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 Money Market Hedge
A firm expects to receive S$400,000 in 90 days.

Borrows at 8.00%
1. Borrows for 90 days 3. Pays
S$392,157 S$400,000

Effective
Exchange at exchange rate
$0.5500/S$ $0.5489/S$
Lends at 7.20%
2. Holds for 90 days 3. Receives
$215,686 $219,568

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 Money Market Hedge

• If interest rate parity (IRP) holds, and

transaction costs do not exist, a money
market hedge will yield the same results
as a forward hedge.
• This is so because the forward premium
on a forward rate reflects the interest rate
differential between the two currencies.

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 Currency Option Hedge
• A currency option hedge uses currency call
or put options to hedge transaction
exposure.
• Since options need not be exercised, they
can insulate a firm from adverse exchange
rate movements, and yet allow the firm to
benefit from favorable movements.
• Currency options are also useful for
hedging contingent exposure.

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 Hedging with Currency Options
Hedging Payables with Hedging Receivables with
Currency Call Options Currency Put Options
Strike price = $1.60 Strike price = $0.50
Premium = $ .04 Premium = $ .03
Nominal Cost for each £ Nominal Income for each NZ$
$1.66 $.52
With Hedging
With
$1.62 $.48 Hedging

$1.58 $.44
Without Hedging Without Hedging

0 $1.58 $1.62 $1.66 0 $.44 $.48 $.52

Future Spot Rate Future Spot Rate11 - 18
 Review of Hedging Techniques
To Hedge Payables To Hedge Receivables
Futures Purchase currency Sell currency
hedge futures contract(s). futures contract(s).
Forward Negotiate forward Negotiate forward
hedge contract to buy contract to sell
foreign currency. foreign currency.
Money Borrow local Borrow foreign
market currency. Convert currency. Convert
hedge to foreign currency. to local currency.
Invest till needed. Invest till needed.
Currency Purchase currency Purchase currency
option call option(s). put option(s).
hedge
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Comparison of Hedging Techniques
• Hedging techniques are compared to identify
the one that minimizes payables or maximizes
receivables.
• Note that the cash flows associated with
currency option hedging are not known with
certainty but have to be forecasted.
• Several alternative currency options with
different exercise prices are also usually
available.

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 Hedging Policies of MNCs
• In general, an MNC’s hedging policy varies
with the management’s degree of risk
aversion.
• An MNC may choose to hedge most of its
exposure or none of its exposure.
• The MNC may also choose to hedge
selectively, such as hedging only when it
expects the currency to move in a certain
direction.

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 Limitations of Hedging
• Some international transactions involve
an uncertain amount of foreign currency,
such that overhedging may result.
¤ One solution is to hedge only the minimum
known amount. Additionally, the uncertain
amount may be hedged using options.
• In the long run, the continual short-term
hedging of repeated transactions may
have limited effectiveness too.

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Limitation of Repeated Short-Term Hedging
Repeated Hedging of Foreign Payables
When the Foreign Currency is Appreciating

Costs are Forward Rate

increasing … Spot Rate

although there
are savings
from hedging.

0 1 2 3 Year
The forward rate often moves in tandem with the spot rate.
Thus, an importer who uses one-period forward contracts continually
will have to pay increasingly higher prices during a strong-foreign-
currency cycle.
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Hedging Long-Term Transaction Exposure
Long-Term Hedging of Foreign Payables
when the Foreign Currency is Appreciating

Spot Rate

Savings from
hedging
3-yr
2-yr forward
1-yr forward
forward
0 1 2 3 Year
If the hedging techniques can be applied to longer-term periods, they can more
effectively insulate the firm from exchange rate risk over the long run.

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 Hedging Long-Term
Transaction Exposure
• MNCs that can accurately estimate foreign
currency cash flows for several years may
use long-term hedging techniques.
Long-term forward contracts, or long
forwards, with maturities of up to five
years or more, can be set up for very
creditworthy customers.

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 Hedging Long-Term
Transaction Exposure
In a currency swap, two parties, with the
aid of brokers, agree to exchange
specified amounts of currencies on
specified dates in the future.
A parallel loan, or back-to-back loan,
involves an exchange of currencies
between two parties, with a promise to re-
exchange the currencies at a specified
exchange rate and future date.

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 Alternative Hedging Techniques
• Sometimes, a perfect hedge is not
available (or is too expensive) to eliminate
transaction exposure.
• To reduce exposure under such
conditions, the firm can consider:
¤ leading and lagging,
¤ cross-hedging, or
¤ currency diversification.

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 Leading and Lagging

• Leading and lagging strategies involve

adjusting the timing of a payment request
or disbursement to reflect expectations
about future currency movements.
• Expediting a payment is referred to as
leading, while deferring a payment is
termed lagging.

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 Cross-Hedging
• When a currency cannot be hedged,
another currency that can be hedged and
is highly correlated may be hedged
instead.
• The stronger the positive correlation
between the two currencies, the more
effective the cross-hedging strategy will
be.

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 Currency Diversification

• An MNC may reduce its exposure to

exchange rate movements when it
diversifies its business among numerous
countries.
• Currency diversification is more effective
when the currencies are not highly
positively correlated.

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