Foreign Currency Exposure Management

A practical and accessible guide that demystifies ForEx risk for managers in all areas of business Virtually any organisation active in the global economy is impacted by fluctuations in foreign exchange (FX or ForEx) markets. Managers need to understand this increasingly complex issue and measure their firm’s exposure to risk. Corporate Foreign Exchange Risk Management is an in-depth yet accessible guide on effective ForEx exposure management. Designed for professionals responsible for managing a profit & loss or balance sheet influenced by ForEx fluctuations, it enables risk managers to navigate the interconnected worlds of financial management and economics. This innovative guide integrates academic discussion of the economics of risk management decisions and pragmatic advice for various situations in which performance measures affected by accounting standards are paid considerable attention. Readers are provided with the tools and knowledge required to handle a broad range of issues related to ForEx risk management. Clear, non-technical chapters demystify concepts that often appear complicated and confusing to managers. Written by globally-recognised experts in corporate finance, risk management and international business, this book: Employs a reader-friendly narrative style to explain complex concepts Provides a clear, actionable risk management strategy which can be used in a variety of businesses Places all concepts in relatable, real-world contexts Explains important academic research to practitioners in plain English Includes effective pedagogical tools and explanations, straightforward examples and end-of-chapter summaries which highlight key points Corporate Foreign Exchange Risk Management is a must-read for any manager who deals with corporate exposure to ForEx risk, as well as analysts wishing to better understand the relation between corporate performance and ForEx fluctuations and students of corporate risk management.

Decentralized and volatile, the foreign exchange market is arguably the largest tradable market in the world. With participants ranging from speculators to risk adverse corporate hedgers, the foreign currency market offers a diverse offering of products. The book presents readers with fundamental concepts of market forces, corporate risk management and basic terminology in the market. Later chapters cover products including the spot market, forward contract, option date forward contract, compensating contract, partial offset contract, and swap contracts. The book concludes with more complex contract structures that include the non-deliverable forward contract and common forms of an option contract. Examples of each contract type are provided to reinforce the concepts with a focus on corporate treasury and risk management. Thomas Kimbrell takes a unique approach to introducing foreign currency exchange market by focusing on the corporation. Specifically, Kimbrell writes about risk management and developing policy towards managing foreign exchange volatility on corporate earnings. Examples of foreign exchange products are from a corporate perspective giving treasury management a simple and effective method to easily understand and apply the concepts presented.

Since I first published Management of Foreign Exchange Risk (Lexington Books, 1978), financial innovation-spurred, in part, by exploding volatility in currency prices-has revolutionized the theory and praxis of foreign exchange risk management. Old-fashioned forward contracts have surrendered market share to currency swaps and options as well as to their perpetually multiplying derivatives. Interestingly, forex derivatives now provide a low cost and highly efficient method of transferring risk from the firms that are exposed to risk but which would rather not be (i. e. , risk-hedgers) to those which are not exposed but which-in exchange for a fee-would assume some exposure to risk (i. e. , risk bearers). Perhaps more importantly, foreign exchange risk management, which was once a fairly mechanical task confmed to the international treasury function, is now permeating global strategic management. Indeed, since the demise of the Bretton Woods system of pegged exchange rates, the cost of forex hedging instruments has fallen so dramatically that firms can readily avail themselves of hedging products which can reduce unwanted risk, thereby potentially gaining a competitive advantage over rivals that do not. Management and Control of Foreign Exchange Risk has grown out of a fundamental revision of my earlier work published almost 20 years ago. In the process, my thinking about risk and its mathematics has greatly benefitted from my association with John Cozzolino and Charles Tapiero.

With the advent of the World Trade Organization and NAFTA, foreign exchange now impacts the corporate world as never before. Hedging currency risk - usually through the interbank network - is now a routine treasury function. However, midsized companies (up to $100 million in annual sales) are often shut out of the interbank market because of cost and minimum size requirements. Currency Risk Management: A Handbook for Financial Managers, Brokers, and Their Consultants shows how to capture this business - from the basic concepts of foreign exchange to prospecting the corporate client. The author writes in an easy-to-read style and shows the finer points of foreign exchange and various exchange regimes recognized by the IMF. The reader will learn why exchange rates are a matter of government restrictions and controls as well as market price discovery.

The Currency Risk Management series offers readers, researchers, and financial professional a time-tested training tool for understanding and working in the increasingly complex currency markets. This series breaks new ground in simplicity, clarity, and ease of application in risk management practice.

Financial managers rarely find a one-stop source for a complete course in currency management. Expanding on his work, Currency Risk Management, Gary Shoup builds a practical foreign currency management program. This extensive text covers everything managers and their consultants need to implement a program, from trends in exchange rates to understanding pricing determinants. He discusses in detail the market for currencies, price forecasting, exposure and risk management, managing accounting exposure, and managing strategic exposure.