Financial Instruments Essay

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Financial instruments are legal documents that have monetary value or represent a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties regarding a right to payment of money. There are number of types of documents that are properly identified as financial instrument, including derivatives and cash instruments. (Tatum M., 2015) A financial instrument may be a hard copy or virtual document. The classification of financial instruments is divided into two categories: financial assets and other financial instruments. Financial assets are non-physical asset whose value is derived from contractual claim, such as bonds, stocks and bank deposits. Financial instruments under the financial assets are special drawing rights, monetary …show more content…

Monetary gold is any actual gold that determine a government’s currency value. (Investor Words, 2015) SDRs are national reserve asset which was created to supplement the existing reserves of other countries. The SDR also serves as IMF's unit of account and other organizations. The most liquid financial assets are the currency and deposits. Notes and coins in circulation represents currency. (from pp. 25-26 of Monetary Statistics Manual) The issued coins and notes are considered liabilities of the central bank. Currency mainly used s a medium of payment and/or exchange for goods and services. Notes are printed with security features and the coins are created through the process of minting. All claims represented as bank deposits on Central bank and other depository corporations are considered deposits. There are two types of deposits: transferable deposits and non-transferable deposits. Deposit is a very common way of securing …show more content…

Interests are earned from the maturity of the securities. Borrowing is a source of funds for credit institutions. Just like the securities other than shares, an interest is earned from the amount provided. A loan is an arrangement between the lender and the borrower in which the latter agrees to return the money or property lent along with interest at some future point in time. A loan may be in short-term (loans with 1 year or less maturity), medium-term (1-5 years of maturity) or long-term (loans that exceed the maturity of medium and short term loans). Shares and other equity cover all instruments and records acknowledging claims on the residual value of a corporation. The shareholders of shares and equities are entitled to dividends. Financial derivatives are financial instruments that are link to a specific financial instrument through which specific financial risks can be traded in financial markets in their own right. The main purpose of financial derivatives is to provide insurance by transferring the risk from one person or firm to another. These derivatives can derive profit from the changes in interest rate and equity markets around the world and in the currency exchange rate shifts. (from pp. 31-33 of Monetary Statistics

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