Overview
The Introduction to International Wholesale Banking course provides the delegates with a broad understanding of the practices and products in this environment, together with a more detailed view of some of the core product groups and practices.
Who should attend
Anyone with an interest in this marketplace. Particularly junior and middle management currently involved in the back-office of wholesale banks, IT company employees providing solutions to banking organisations, HR professionals recruiting into this marketplace and non-banking personnel for whom a basic knowledge of these products would be of assistance in their day-to-day activities.
Course objectives
By the end of this practical two-day course, you will have:
> A clearer view of the Wholesale Banking arena, its terminology and practices
> A more detailed understanding of some of its basic products
> The confidence and knowledge to operate more efficiently in your chosen spheres of business
Course content
General Overview of Banking
>A brief overview of the role of modern wholesale banks
>Explanation of the distinction between fee-based and risk-based activities
>Current terminology
An Introduction to Trading and Settlement
>The trading cycle and associated terminology
>Settlement in the trading environment
>The optimisation of the settlement activity, looking at the use of in-house automation, electronic data transfer and the benefits of external settlement clearing houses
>Problems associated with failed settlements and the PChr(35)L impact of such events
Foreign Exchange and Money Market Products
>An overview of the market
>Current market volumes and trends
>A detailed examination of the following products, covering their basic characteristics and settlement procedures:
- foreign exchange, spot and forward
- money market loans and deposits
- the yield curve
- commercial paper
- treasury bills
- certificates of deposit
Equities
>An overview of the market, with particular interest in current trends toward standardisation of international equity markets and the growth of mergers between major stock exchanges
>A brief explanation of the UK corporate law surrounding equities and their role in the corporate finance activity
>The trading environment in the UK and the major players involved
>A more detailed explanation of the following items:
- ordinary and preference shares
- rights and bonus issue of shares
- stock exchange indices - eg FTSE100
- cum and ex div
- the role of registrars and custodian/global custodians
- a simple insight into the factors affecting equity pricing
Bonds/Fixed Income Securities
>The current market place, trading and settlement practices
>Contrast with equities in terms of product complexity, settlement practices and as a corporate finance tool
>A more detailed explanation of the following:
- bond, coupon and eurobond
- government bonds e.g. UK gilts, US treasuries
- clean and dirty pricing and the concept of coupon accrual
- the sale and repurchase agreement or REPO
- an introduction to the concept of discounted cash flow (DCF) and its use in the pricing of bonds and fixed income securities
Derivative Products
>The historical growth of the derivative markets
>The underlying principles behind a derived product
>The comparison of the exchange traded and OTC markets
>A practical examination of some basic derivative products:
- the futures contract
- the exchange traded and OTC option
- the forward rate agreement (FRA)
- the cap, the floor and the collar
- the interest rate swap
- a brief overview of the factors involved in the pricing of derivative products
