Foreign Exchange Operations: Master Trading Agreements, Settlement, and Collateral

The ultimate nuts-and-bolts guide to foreign exchange operations David DeRosa, a leading foreign exchange expert, devotes this book to the much neglected topic of foreign exchange operations. With the help of more than 100 sample documents, screenshots, and examples of trading transactions, confirmations, statements, agreements, contracts, and reports, Dr. DeRosa covers topics such as: The development of the foreign exchange market The varieties of foreign exchange trades Vanilla and exotic currency options Trade execution Electronic trading platforms Trade confirmations Examples of costly trade and operations errors Herstatt risk Real time gross settlement systems CLS Bank Master trading agreements (ISDA, FEOMA, and IFXCO) Margin and collateral functions Prime brokerage services

Preface xi Acknowledgments xv CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Foreign Exchange 1 Defining Money 1 Participants in the Foreign Exchange Market 2 Identifying Currencies and Exchange Rates 4 Quotation Conventions 5 The Foreign Exchange Market 6 Foreign Exchange Regimes 11 Exchange Rate Controls 12 The Structure of the Foreign Exchange Market 12 Banks’ Identification Codes 13 The Authorities 15 Spot Foreign Exchange Deals 17 Profit and Loss on a Simple Trade 18 Value Dates 19 Forward Foreign Exchange and Covered Interest Parity 20 Forward Swaps 21 Non–Deliverable Forwards 22 Summary 22 Appendix 1.1: ISO Currency Codes 23 References 34 CHAPTER 2 Options on Foreign Exchange 35 Option Basics 35 Put–Call Parity 37 The Importance of Option Models 39 Risk Parameters 41 The Minor Greeks 44 More on Delta 45 Portfolios of Options 50 American Exercise Models 51 Volatility 52 Important Option Strategies 55 Option Market Making 56 Non–Deliverable Options 56 Barrier Options 58 Binary Options 65 Barrier Determination Agency 69 Other Exotic Options 70 More on Option–Related Risks 70 Summary 72 Appendix 2.1: Further Comments on Put–Call Parity 72 Appendix 2.2: Black–Scholes–Merton Model 74 Appendix 2.3: Barrier and Binary Options 75 References 78 CHAPTER 3 How Trades are Executed and Confirmed 81 Spot Foreign Exchange Deals 83 Forward Outright Deals 83 Forward Swap Deals 85 Option Trades 87 How Foreign Exchange Trades are Executed 88 Concentration in Market Making 89 Example of an Electronic Trading Platform: FXall 92 Trade Documentation Cycle 97 Internal Operations and Reports for Dealers 141 Summary 159 Appendix 3.1: Transactions at Daily Fixings 160 References 160 CHAPTER 4 Foreign Exchange Settlement 161 Settlement Instructions for an Individual Spot Foreign Exchange Deal 161 Overview of the Settlement Process 170 The Bretton Woods–Smithsonian Period 171 The Herstatt Legacy 172 Settlement Risk 173 Netting 176 How the Modern Settlement Systems Developed 181 Large–Value Transfers 186 Central Bank Involvement 186 Correspondent Banking 187 Payment Systems 187 Designated–Time Net Settlement (DTNS) 189 Real–Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) 189 Examples of Modern Payment Systems 192 CLS Bank International 203 Internal Controls 208 Summary 209 References 209 CHAPTER 5 Master Agreements 211 Motivation 212 The Architecture 214 The FXC Master Agreement Forms 215 The ISDA Master Agreement Forms 215 Single Agreement 217 Non–Reliance: Parties to Rely on Their Own Expertise 219 Netting: Payment or Settlement Netting and Novation Netting 220 Events of Default 221 Termination Events 228 Additional Termination Events 230 Close–Out Netting 231 Safe Harbors 232 Early Termination 233 Payments Upon Termination and Close–Out Amounts 234 Close–Out Amount: 2002 ISDA 236 Set–Off Provisions 241 Special Features for Options: ICOM and FEOMA 241 Special Features for Non–Deliverable Forwards 242 Miscellaneous Issues 242 More on Deeds of Adherence and Schedules 245 Summary 245 Appendix 5.1: IFXCO Terms 246 Appendix 5.2: IFXCO Adherence Agreement 275 References 281 CHAPTER 6 Margin and Collateral 283 Credit Agreements 283 Framework for the ISDA Credit Support Deed and the FXC Collateral Annex 285 Framework for the ISDA Credit Support Annexes 293 Enforcement Rights of the Secured Party 294 Some Additional Features Commonly Found in Credit Support Documents 296 The Value–at–Risk Concept 297 VaR for Spot, Forward, and Vanilla Options 298 Portfolio Value–at–Risk 305 Sample Customer Credit Snapshot 310 Limitations of VaR 310 Limitations of Collateralized Agreements 313 Summary 313 Appendix 6.1: The 1999 Collateral Annex to FEOMA, IFEMA, or ICOM Master Agreement 314 References 337 CHAPTER 7 Foreign Exchange Prime Brokerage 339 Overview of FX Prime Brokerage 339 Pros and Cons of FX Prime Brokerage 341 Execution and Confirmation in an FX Prime Brokerage Environment 343 The Legal Architecture of FX Prime Brokerage 345 The FX Prime Broker and the Executing Dealer 346 The Master FX Give–up Agreement 346 Other Elements of the Master FX Give–up Agreement 354 The FX Prime Broker and the Designated Party 359 The Executing Dealer and the Designated Party 366 Reverse Give–Up Relationships 366 Summary 368 Appendix 7.1: Master FX Give–Up Agreement 369 Appendix 7.2: Compensation Agreement 384 References 388 About the Author 389 Index 391

David F. DeRosa is President of DeRosa Research and Trading, Inc., a firm that conducts research into derivatives pricing, macroeconomics, monetary policy, and foreign exchange. He is an adjunct associate professor of finance at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University where he teaches courses in pricing models in financial engineering. David sits on the boards of several prominent hedge fund groups. He is the author of many books including Options on Foreign Exchange (Wiley), Central Banking and Monetary Policy in Emerging-Markets Nations , and In Defense of Free Capital Markets. David received his PhD in finance and economics from the Graduate School of Business of The University of Chicago, and his BA in economics from the College of The University of Chicago. Before founding DeRosa Research, he worked on Wall Street as a foreign exchange trader, hedge fund trader, and portfolio manager.