UBS Dictionary of Banking

B/L
Abbr. for bill of lading.

Ba

backtesting / Backtesting / contrôle a posteriori / backtesting
Checking value-at-risk calculations and investment and hedge strategies against historic data. Backtesting enables the robustness of models to be tested under market conditions.

back-to-back credit
Synonym for back-to-back documentary credit.

back-to-back documentary credit / Back-to-Back-Akkreditiv / crédit documentaire back to back / credito documentario back to back
Also: counter credit, back-to-back credit. Documentary credit which is granted to another beneficiary on the basis of an existing, non-transferrable documentary credit (prime/master/original letter of credit). Back-to-back credits are commonly used by middlemen when the original credit cannot be transferred and/or the terms of the two credits are not the same.

backwardation / Deport / déport / backwardation
(1) Payment made to carry forward short positions.
(2) Situation in which the spot price of a currency plus the cost of rent and interest exceeds the forward price. Opposite: contango.

backwardation business / Deportgeschäft / opération de déport / operazione di backwardation
Extension of a short position until the next settlement date of the securities market, where the bank delivers the securities on a loan basis on the originally agreed settlement date and charges the client the relevant commission. Opposite: contango.

bad debt risk / Delkredere-Risiko / risque ducroire / rischio delcredere
Risk that a debtor may be unwilling or unable to repay. The credit risk is particularly high in the area of foreign trade due to legislative differences between countries. See also credit risk.

balance / Saldo / solde / saldo
The difference between the sum of all credit items and all debit items in an account.

balance an account / saldieren / clore / saldare
Also: close an account. To calculate the balance of an account accrued up to the closing date, including interest and expenses.

balance brought forward / Saldovortrag / report de solde / riporto a nuovo
Balance brought (carried) forward from one accounting period to the next.

balance of payments / Zahlungsbilanz / balance des paiements / bilancia dei pagamenti
Balance-sheet-like record of all cross-border payments of a country during a given period. The balance of payments includes current transactions in respect of goods (foreign trade) and services (including income on investments) on the one hand, and capital transactions (direct and portfolio investments, etc.) on the other. Not a balance sheet in the strict accounting sense, it is instead more akin to a current account. See also current account balance.

balance of trade / Handelsbilanz / balance commerciale / bilancia commerciale
The net difference between the value of a country's exports and imports of merchandise, with exports listed on the assets side and imports on the liabilities side. The balance of trade is positive (in surplus) if exports exceed imports, and negative (in deficit) if the reverse is the case.

balance sheet / Bilanz / bilan / bilancio
A statement of the assets and liabilities of a business at a given time. The assets side of the balance sheet provides information on the use of funds whereas the liabilities side details the procurement of funds (financing). In Switzerland, the preparation of balance sheets is governed by a detailed body of regulations.

balance sheet analysis / Bilanzanalyse / analyse de bilan / analisi di bilancio
Assessment of the figures and ratios in the balance sheet and income statement (profit and loss account) in order to appraise the standing and creditworthiness of a company or to evaluate the securities it has issued for investment purposes. See also securities analysis.

Bancomat International / Bancomat / bancomat / Bancomat
International cash dispenser chain created to enable bank customers to withdraw cash up to a certain amount at anytime of the day or night. To do this, clients require a customer card or Maestro card and PIN code. Bancomats can also be used to load electronic purses using the CASH facility.

bank / Bank / banque / banca
Organization which conducts banking transactions (mainly in the areas of financing, investment and payment operations) together with all accompanying services. Depending on business policy, company size and legal limitations, a bank may operate as a full-service bank or a specialized, regional, national or international institution. In most countries banks are subject to strict monitoring and controls (Switzerland: Swiss Federal Banking Commission). The main criterion in Switzerland for an institution to qualify as a bank (and thus be governed by the Swiss Banking Law) is that its commercial function be the acceptance of deposits from the public and/or refinancing through outside banks in order to finance a number of individuals or companies with whom the institution does not form a business entity. Similarly, Article 2a of the Implementing Ordinance for the Swiss Federal Law on Banks and Savings Banks also assigns bank status to issuing companies which underwrite securities or equity rights either for a fixed fee or a commission and then place them on the primary market.

bank account / Bankkonto / compte en banque / conto bancario
Also: account. Record of all incoming and outgoing payments maintained by a bank for its clients. Interest rates, charges, credit and withdrawal limits and additional facilities will vary according to the type of account.

bank balance sheet / Bankbilanz / bilan bancaire / bilancio bancario
A statement of the assets and liabilities of a bank existing at a particular time or date. In Switzerland, the Banking Law and its Implementing Ordinance stipulate binding regulations for the preparation and publication of annual accounts and interim financial statements. Article 25 of the Implementing Ordinance details minimum requirements.

bank bill / Bankakzept / acceptation de banque / accettazione bancaria
Bill of exchange accepted by the drawee bank. Not a common form of exchange transaction in Switzerland. However, bankers' acceptances play an important role as money market instruments.

bank check (US)
See banker's draft.

bank clearing system
Settlement of mutual payments between banks. In Switzerland: Swiss Interbank Clearing.

bank commission / Bankprovision / commission bancaire / provvigione bancaria
Fee levied for banking services.

bank declaration / Bankenerklärung / déclaration bancaire / dichiarazione bancaria
Under Swiss withholding tax law, the annual distribution of investment trusts deriving at least 80% of their income from non-Swiss sources is credited to shareholders not residing in Switzerland without deduction of Swiss withholding tax, provided the bank where the coupons are cashed declares:
(1) that the shareholder does not reside in Switzerland,
(2) that the shares are deposited with it in a safekeeping account,
(3) that the coupon amount is not paid out in cash but credited to an account held by the shareholder at that bank.

bank deposit / Bankeinlage / dépôt bancaire / deposito bancario
Deposit with a bank.

Bank for International Settlements / Bank für Internationalen Zahlungsausgleich / Banque des règlements internationaux / Banca dei Regolamenti Internazionali
Abbr.: BIS. International financial institution domiciled in Basel. The BIS promotes cooperation between central banks as well as advocating the standardization of banking regulations by issuing recommendations for capital adequacy, risk management and derivatives. Website: http://www.bis.org.

bank guarantee / Bankgarantie / garantie bancaire / garanzia bancaria
Irrevocable commitment of a bank to make payment if a third party fails to supply specific goods or services. Main types of bank guarantee: bid bond, performance bond, advance payment guarantee, payment guarantee and credit guarantee.

bank guaranty / Bankbürgschaft / cautionnement bancaire / fideiussione bancaria
Legally binding document signed by the bank of a client guaranteeing payment of a sum up to a given amount to a specified third party if the client fails to meet his payment obligations. The bank guaranty gives the seller maximum security that he will receive his money. The client bears the costs of issuing the bank guaranty.

Bank of Japan / Bank of Japan / Banque du Japon / Bank of Japan
Abbr.: BoJ. Japanese central bank.

bank payment order
See payment order.

bank payment slip with reference number / Bankeinzahlungsschein mit Referenznummer / bulletin de versement avec référence bancaire / polizza di versamento bancario con numero di riferimento
Abbr.: BESR. Payment slip used in Switzerland for the efficient, low-cost invoicing of domestic business transactions. Funds paid into the account are notified to the client (on data carriers or by file transfer) for automatic reconciliation of accounts receivable.

bank rate
Synonym for discount rate.

banker / Bankier / banquier / banchiere
Person who performs brokerage services in his capacity as owner of a banking institution or as an executive employee of a bank.

Bankers Association
Short form of Swiss Bankers Association.

banker's draft / Bankcheck / chèque bancaire / assegno bancario
Also: bank check. A draft issued by a bank which may be drawn on the issuing bank itself or on a third bank. Readily negotiable means of cashless payment.

banking centre / Bankplatz / place bancaire / piazza bancaria
Place where banks are domiciled or are represented by business offices. In Switzerland only those localities are considered to be banking centres in which the Swiss National Bank maintains its own bank office or agency or is represented by a correspondent bank. This distinction plays a role primarily in connection with bill collection and discounting.

Banking Commission
Synonym for Swiss Federal Banking Commission.

Banking Ordinance / Bankenverordnung / ordonnance sur les banques et les caisses d'épargne / ordinanza sulle banche
Abbr.: BankO. Abbreviation for the Swiss Implementing Ordinance on Banks and Savings Banks of 17 May 1972 and its amendments. It contains the supplementary provisions to the Swiss Banking Law.

banking operations / Bankgeschäfte / opérations bancaires / operazioni bancarie
Legal transactions carried out by the bank when executing its specific functions. Banking operations can be categorised according to different criteria, e.g. in terms of returns as in interest-differential business, fee and commission business, own-account transactions and trading business; or in line with organisational or marketing criteria as follows: deposit transactions, loan transactions, securities transactions, money market transactions, payment transactions.

banking secrecy / Bankgeheimnis / secret bancaire / segreto bancario
An obligation on the part of banks and their employees to keep customer data confidential. In Switzerland, the violation of banking secrecy is a public offence under Article 47 of the Banking Law. However, under the law governing criminal procedure and other legal provisions, the banks have an obligation to provide the authorities with information and testify before them.

banking supervision / Bankenaufsicht / contrôle bancaire / vigilanza bancaria
Four bodies supervise banking activities in Switzerland: the Federal Banking Commission (highest supervisory authority), the statutory auditors (as prescribed by Swiss banking legislation), the internal auditors, and the auditors as prescribed by the Swiss Code of Obligations.

banknote / Banknote / billet de banque / banconota
Note issued by a central bank as a means of currency. A banknote does not embody any rights and as such does not constitute a security. Banknotes are legal tender.

banknote trading / Notenhandel / négoce de billets de banque / compravendita di banconote
Also: banknote dealing, change. The exchange of cash in one's own currency into a foreign currency. Where cheques, bills of exchange or bank deposits are converted into a foreign country, the term foreign exchange trading or currency trading is used.

BankO
See Banking Ordinance.

bankruptcy / Konkurs / faillite / fallimento
Inability to meet payment obligations leading to the enforced liquidation of the assets of a debtor entered in the Commercial Register. The proceeds of the liquidation are distributed among the creditors according to a specific plan. In UK English the term «bankruptcy» can only apply to individuals - «insolvency» should be used for companies. See also: schedule of creditors.

bank's inhouse fund / bankinternes Sondervermögen / portefeuille collectif interne de la banque / portafoglio collettivo interno della banca
Fund-like pool of assets. Units are offered solely to clients who already have assets under management with the bank operating the fund. Under Switzerland's Investment Fund Act, a bank may not publicly advertise inhouse funds.

barbell strategy
A bond investment strategy that concentrates investments in both very short-term and very long-term maturities.

barrel / Barrel / baril / barile
Measure unit for oil equivalent to 42 US gallons or around 159 litres. Production statistics are published in barrel units, and prices for almost all the commonly known crude oil types are set in dollars per barrel.


barrier / Barriere / barrière / barriera
Structured product contracts with trigger points that, when crossed, automatically generate events such as changes in value, redemption or coupon.

barrier option / Barrier-Option / option à barrière / barrier option
Also: limit option. Option that in contrast to normal calls and puts is subject to certain restrictions which create better premiums. If the underlying of a barrier option touches, exceeds or falls below a specific price or rate (barrier) during the term, the option is either activated or expires. See knock-in option, knock-out option.

base rate
Synonym for key interest rate.

Basel Committee on Banking Supervision / Basler Ausschuss für Bankenaufsicht / Comité de Bâle sur le contrôle bancaire / Comitato di Basilea per la vigilanza bancaria
Committee of banking supervisory authorities that coordinates banking supervision in the individual member countries. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision was founded in 1974 by the governors of the central banks of the Group of Ten. It is made up of high-ranking representatives of the banking supervisory authorities and central banks of a range of European and non-European countries. The committee generally convenes at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, where it has its permanent secretariat. The guidelines on the Capital Accord (Basel I and Basel II) were drawn up by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The committee does not, however, have any legislative powers.

basic analysis / Fundamentalanalyse / analyse fondamentale / analisi fondamentale
Method of determining the true or intrinsic value of a share on the basis of fundamental factors (e.g. balance sheet, income statement, management record, overall industry). Used as a gauge of future profit and dividend growth. A share trading lower than its estimated intrinsic value is classed as underpriced.

basis point / Basispunkt / point de base / punto base
One hundredth of a percent. Used for calculating yield differentials in interest instruments.

basis price / Basispreis / prix de base / prezzo base
Price at which an option buyer can buy (call) or sell (put) the underlying securities, currencies, etc.

basis risk / Basisrisiko / risque de base / rischio di base
Price risk inherent in forward transactions. Risk that the correlation between the price of a financial future and that of the underlying spot instrument could change so significantly as to diminish the success of the hedging transaction.


basket / Basket / panier / paniere
Basket of instruments, e.g. stocks from the same sector or region. A basket in turn can be used as the underlying of a derivative financial product.

basket certificate / Basketzertifikat / certificat sur panier / basket certificate
Index certificate based on an index created by the issuing bank.

basket product / Basketprodukt / produit sur panier / basket product
Financial product made up of a range of individual securities that may be differently weighted and that replicates an index, sector or strategy. Examples: index certificate, basket certificate, fixed-income fund, exchange-traded fund.

Basel I / Basel I / Bâle I / Basilea I
Set of guidelines issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in 1988 covering capital adequacy and risk management by banks. See also Basel II, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Basel II / Basel II / Bâle II / Basilea II
Revised version of the guidelines drawn up by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision covering risk management, the powers of the supervisory bodies to monitor risk management and the extended duty of disclosure and market discipline of the banks. See also Basel I, Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

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Bb

BBL
Abbr. for Bolero bill of lading.

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Be

bear / Baissier / baissier / ribassista
Also: bear market speculator. Investor who speculates on a decline in prices. Bears sell securities, currencies, etc. forward in the hope of buying them back at a lower price before delivery. See also bear market. Opposite: bull.

bear market / Bärenmarkt / marché baissier / mercato bear
Also: market decline. General decline in prices, especially in the stock markets. Opposite: bull market.

bear market speculator
Synonym for bear.

bearer mortgage note / Inhaberschuldbrief / cédule hypothécaire au porteur / cartella ipotecaria al portatore
Debt instrument, or note, made out to the bearer. Whoever holds the note at any given time is the creditor.

bearer security / Inhaberpapier / titre au porteur / titolo al portatore
Security indicating that the bearer is recognized as the owner. Opposite: registered security.

bearer share / Inhaberaktie / action au porteur / azione al portatore
Share made out to the bearer, i.e. the person who holds or possesses the instrument, rather than to a specific named person. Bearer shares may only be issued after payment of the full par value. Opposite: registered share.

below par / unter pari / au-dessous du pair / sotto la pari
Term that indicates that the price of a security is lower than its nominal value. Opposite: above par.

benchmark / Benchmark / benchmark / benchmark
Reference parameter (e.g. a share index or an index portfolio) used to compare the performance of a portfolio. A benchmark that is an index is also called a reference index.

benchmark index
Synonym for reference index.

BESR
Abbr. for bank payment slip with reference number.

best execution
According to MiFID, all bank clients must receive appropriate information on the bank's best execution policy. The policy specifies that the bank must execute orders on the terms most favourable to the client.

Best-in-claas approach / «Best in class»-Ansatz / Approche best-in-class / Approccio best-in-class
SRI approach (subset of positive screening) where the leading companies with regard to environmental, social or governance criteria from each individual sector or industry group are identified and included in the portfolio.

beta / Beta / bêta / beta
Measure of the sensitivity of an equity or a portfolio to the overall market. A beta of >1 indicates that the relevant share or portfolio is subject to larger earnings fluctuations and thus carries a larger systematic risk than the overall market. See also alpha.

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Bi

bid
Abbreviation of bid price.

bid/ask spread / Geld/Brief-Spanne / écart cours offert/demandé / scarto denaro-lettera
Spread applied by banks, determined by transaction costs plus a profit margin.

bid bond / Bid-Bond / bid bond / bid bond
Also: tender bond, tender guarantee, bid guarantee. Guarantee common in export financing and intended to prevent companies from tendering a bid and subsequently rejecting the mandate received because the transaction has in the meantime become unattractive, for example. This enables the buyer to protect himself against the tendering of dubious or unqualified bids. Bid bonds are often required for public tenders.

bid price / Geldkurs / cours acheteur / corso denaro
Price which a buyer offers for the purchase of securities, foreign exchange or foreign banknotes. In other words, the price or terms at which a person is willing to buy. Opposite: asked or ask price.

big banks / Grossbanken / grandes banques / grandi banche
Term customarily applied in many countries to the category of large banks operating on an international scale. Switzerland's big banks are UBS and Credit Suisse.

Big Board
Slang for the New York Stock Exchange.

bill eligible for discount with the National Bank / nationalbankfähiger Wechsel / effet admis à l'escompte par la Banque nationale / effetto scontabile presso la Banca nazionale
A bill that under certain conditions can be discounted by the Swiss National Bank. Prerequisites are that it must be made out in Swiss francs, be payable in a Swiss banking centre and carry two mutually independent signatures of firms or persons known to be solvent. It is valid for a maximum of six months. See also rediscount.

bill for collection / Inkassowechsel / effet à l'encaissement / cambiale all'incasso
Bill of exchange presented to a bank for collection (and not for discounting). The countervalue of the bill is credited to the account of the customer either immediately «on the due date» or only «after collection».

bill guarantee / Wechselbürgschaft / aval / avallo cambiario
Also referred to as aval. Undertaking of joint and several liability by the endorser (by signing the bill) to settle a bill of exchange in the event of the failure of the actual drawee of the bill to do so. See also guarantee.

bill of exchange / Wechsel / effet de change / cambiale
Payment order written by one person (the drawer) directing another person (the drawee) to pay a certain amount of money at a specified future date to a third party. It designates a named beneficiary but is transferable by endorsement. Discount credit when sold to a bank. See also promissory note, acceptance, draft.

bill of lading / Konnossement / connaissement / polizza di carico
A document issued in ocean traffic, the bill of lading confirms that the goods have been received for shipment, the terms under which shipping is to take place and that they are to be surrendered to the legitimate owner of the bill of lading at the port of destination. The shipment document is the most important document used in documentary credits. See also: clean bill of lading.

Bill of Lading Electronic Registry Organization
See Bolero.

bill portfolio / Wechselportefeuille / portefeuille effets / portafoglio cambiario
Also: bill holdings. Discounted bills deposited with a bank.

bill renewal / Wechselprolongation / prolongation d'un effet / proroga di cambiale
Prolonging the validity of a bill by postponing the expiry date.

BIS
Abbr. for Bank for International Settlements.

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Bl

black knight / Schwarzer Ritter / chevalier noir / cavaliere nero
Also referred to as a corporate raider, raider. Company that endeavours to take over another company against the will of the acquiree's management by seeking to convince the shareholders of the target company to accept the takeover contrary to the wishes of the management and Board of Directors. See also white knight.

black-out period / Black-Out-Period / période de black-out / black-out period
Period during which no brokers can issue research reports on the proposed listing enterprise.

Black-Scholes model / Black-Scholes-Modell / modèle Black-Scholes / formula di Black e Scholes
Model developed by F. Black and M. Scholes in 1973 for calculating the price of European options on shares and indices.

blank cheque / Blankocheck / chèque en blanc / assegno in bianco
A cheque signed by the drawer with no amount specified. This is inserted by the payee on pre-agreed terms. Liability remains with the drawer.

blank draft / Blankowechsel / effet en blanc / cambiale in bianco
A draft passed on by the drawer with certain details left blank. The recipient is entitled to complete the draft himself on pre-agreed terms. Liability remains with the drawer.

blank endorsement / Blankoindossament / endossement en blanc / girata in bianco
Endorsement not bearing the name of the endorsee. The instrument merely contains the signature of the endorser. See also assignment in blank.

blanket assignment / Globalzession / cession globale / cessione globale
The assignment (ceding) of all present and future claims of the debtor to third parties. The Swiss Bankers Association has prepared special guidelines for making blanket assignments. See also assignment.

blanket credit line / Rahmenkredit / crédit cadre / credito quadro
General credit available under an open-end lending agreement for a specified period. An example would be a credit line agreed between an import and an export country for granting long-term export or investment loans.

block of shares / Aktienpaket / lot d'actions / pacchetto azionario
Large number of shares of the same company owned by a single shareholder.

block trading / Blockhandel / négoce de lots importants / compravendita per blocchi
Trading in large packages of securities.

blocked period / Sperrfrist / délai de blocage / periodo bloccato
Banking: period during which certain securities are not placed freely at the owner's disposal (e.g. securities or employee shares deposited as collateral).

blocked securities / Sperrstücke / titres bloqués / titoli bloccati
(1) Bonds or shares (e.g. securities acquired under stock option plans) which may not be sold before a certain date.
(2) Securities reported lost or stolen and hence barred from trading.

blue chip / Blue Chip / blue chip / blue chip
Share of a company of prime borrower standing. Original meaning of word: fragment of a diamond.

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Bo

BoJ
Abbr. for Bank of Japan.

Bolero / Bolero / Bolero / Bolero
Acronym of Bill of Lading Electronic Registry Organization. Joint venture founded in 1988 with the aim of creating a neutral and secure electronic business-to-business platform for the Internet-based transfer of trading documents in international dealing activities. Website: www.bolero.net. See also Bolero bill of lading, bill of lading.

Bolero bill of lading / Bolero-Bill-of-Lading / Bolero Bill of Lading / Bolero Bill of Lading
Abbr.: BBL. Electronic version of traditional bill of lading. The Bolero bill of lading offers the same functions as the paper-based sea waybill in electronic form. The BBL can be created, transferred, altered and finally destroyed again. It ensures that only the authorized company or person is able to initiate transactions related to the title registry and obtain a lading, for instance. See also Bolero.

Bon du Trésor / Bon du Trésor / bon du Trésor / Bon du Trésor
Short- to medium-term treasury bond issue in France with a maturity of between three months and three years. See also treasury note.

bond / (1) Obligation (2) Anleihensobligation (3) Debenture / (1) obligation (2) obligation d'emprunt (3) debenture (1) obbligazione (2) obbligazione di prestito (3) debenture
(1) Unsecured general debt obligation in the form of a security usually with a fixed interest rate or no interest (zero-coupon bond). With few exceptions (such as perpetual bonds), these instruments have a fixed maturity, e.g. bond issues, medium-term notes. See also eurobond issue.
(2) Individual security forming part of a bond issue generally for a principal amount of several millions. All the bonds in a bond issue carry equal rights, with the terms of issue uniformly specified. In contrast to bonds, medium-term notes are not issued during a specific subscription period but continuously. Moreover, medium-term notes are not negotiable, unlike bonds which are as a rule exchange-listed. See also bond issue, medium-term note, convertible bond.
(3) Synonym for debenture.

bond floor / Obligationenwert / valeur nue / bond value
Price at which a convertible bond would have to sell as a conventional bond relative to yields of other bonds of similar maturity, size and quality.

bond fund / Obligationenfonds / fonds en obligations / fondo d'investimento obbligazionario
Investment fund that invests at least two-thirds of its assets in bonds. A maximum of 10% may be invested in equities and 25% in convertible bonds. See also equity, bond, convertible bond issue, fixed-income fund.

bond issue / Anleihe / emprunt obligataire / prestito
(1) Medium- to long-term securities (usually fixed-interest) issued and offered for public subscription during a specified period as a means of raising capital. In Switzerland, bond issues usually run for 5-15 years. In many cases the borrower and/or bondholder is given the right to repay or redeem all or part of the issue prior to final maturity upon observance of a notice period. Special forms include convertible bond issues, index-linked bond issues, foreign bond issues and Eurobonds.
(2) See also bond.

bond issue in default / notleidende Anleihe / emprunt en souffrance / prestito in sofferenza
A bond issue whose interest or planned repayments of principal are not made as scheduled under the terms of the issue.

bond market / Obligationenmarkt / marché obligataire / mercato obbligazionario
Market for government, municipal or corporate debt securities.

bonds / Anleihen / obligations / obbligazioni
In terms of asset class: instruments with main exposure in the fixed income markets, i.e. interest rate and issuer risks. Includes convertible bonds and structured products with guaranteed principal protection.

bonus share / Gratisaktie / action gratuite / azione gratuita
Also: free share. Share newly issued by a corporation to its shareholders created through the conversion of reserves into share capital. Known in the US as stock dividend.

book building / Bookbuilding / book building / book building
Also: book building procedure. Procedure in an initial public offering or issue of other securities in which the price expectations of large institutional investors are taken into account before the actual issue price is set. In contrast to a fixed-price procedure, the issuer carries the placement risk for book building.

book loss / Buchverlust / perte comptable / perdita contabile
A loss resulting from the lower valuation of assets or the higher valuation of liabilities (such as provisions). Equal to the difference between the old and the new (lower) book value. Opposite: book profit.

book profit / Buchgewinn / bénéfice comptable / utile contabile
A profit which derives from assigning a higher value to assets or a lower value to liabilities (e.g. provisions or reserves) and is equal to the difference between the old and the new (higher) book value. Opposite: book loss.

book value / Buchwert / valeur comptable / valore contabile
The value at which assets are carried on the books of account. Generally, fixed assets are shown at cost less normal depreciation while inventories may be carried at cost or market value, whichever is lower. The book value of a share is the company's net worth divided by the number of shares outstanding.

book-entry securities / Wertrecht / droit-valeur / diritto valore
Uncertificated rights stemming from standardized and dematerialized securities. Also: uncertificated securities. Uncertificated rights stemming from standardized and dematerialized securities.

boom / Boom / boom / boom
A rapid expansion in the volume of business activity, frequently accompanied by price inflation and increased speculation in securities, commodities, etc. Different from prosperity in that boom refers to a stormy rise in the pace and volume of activity rather than an actual increase in production and consumption.

borrowed funds
See liabilities.

borrower
Synonym for issuer.

borrower's note / Schuldschein / reconnaissance de dette / riconoscimento di debito
A written, unconditional promise to pay a sum of money at some future date to a named party, to order or on demand.

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Br

Brady bond / Brady-Bond / Brady bond / Brady bond
Long-term bond issued under IMF debt rescheduling programmes which is backed by a zero-coupon bond issued by the US Treasury. See also treasury bond.

break-even / Breakeven / seuil de rentabilité / break even
Also: break-even point, break even, profitability threshold. Abbr.: BEP. In option transactions the price of an underlying at which the cost of purchasing an option is covered.

bridge loan / Überbrückungskredit / crédit de soudure; crédit de relais / credito ponte
A short-term loan made to enable a borrower to complete a purchase before he receives funds from another source, e.g. seasonal loan.

Britannia / Britannia / Britannia / Britannia
British gold coin containing one ounce of gold with a nominal value of £100. Britannia coins of 1/2, 1/4 and 1/10 of an ounce of gold are also minted.

broken date / gebrochener Termin / échéance rompue / data spezzata
Settlement date for forward currency contracts that does not coincide with standard contract periods.

broken-period interest
Synonym for accrued interest.

broker / Makler / agent de change / agente di cambio
Short form of stockbroker.

brokerage / Courtage / courtage / commissione di borsa
The service fee charged by a stockbroker to a client for executing purchase or sale orders for securities, commodities, etc. Brokerage fee scales are usually degressive, i.e. the percentage rate for large-volume orders is less than for small orders.

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Bu

budget / Budget / budget / budget
A plan of future income and expenses during a specified period (frequently one year).

budget deficit / Haushaltsdefizit / déficit budgétaire / disavanzo di bilancio
Situation in which a government's spending exceeds its income. Opposite: budget surplus.

budget surplus / Haushaltsüberschuss / excédent budgétaire / avanzo di bilancio
Situation in which a government's income exceeds its spending. Opposite: budget deficit.

bull / Haussier / haussier / rialzista
Bull is the opposite of bear. See also bull market.

bull market / Bullenmarkt / marché haussier / mercato bull
Also: bullish market, rising market. Market where prices are rising. See also rally. Opposite: bear market.

bulldog bond / Bulldog-Bond / obligation bulldog / bulldog bond
Short form: bulldog. Bond issued by a foreign borrower in sterling.

bullet bond / Bullet-Bond / bullet bond / bullet bond
Bond with fixed maturity that may not be called and may not be redeemed prematurely by the borrower.

bullet strategy
A bond investment strategy where the maturities of the portfolio's securities are highly concentrated around one point on the yield curve.

bullion coin / Bullion-Coin / bullion coin / bullion coin
Coin made from precious metals whose value is based on its precious metal content. Bullion coins are minted in large numbers as they combine the advantages of coins and bars.

bullish market
Synonym for bull market.

Bund / Bund / Bund / Bund
German government bond with a maturity of up to 30 years. The 10-year Bund serves as the benchmark for the German and other European bond markets.

business cycle
See economy.

buying price
Synonym for bid price.

buyout / Buyout / buyout / buyout
The takeover of specific business units or of an entire company by an outside investor or management team.

buy-side research / Buy-Side-Research / recherche buy-side / buy-side research
Research which produces financial reports for portfolio managers, fund managers, relationship managers and private banking clients, who are then in a position to purchase the securities on their own account. Opposite: sell-side research.

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Bv

BVG / BVG / LPP / LPP
Swiss Federal Law on Occupational Retirement, Survivors' and Disability Pension Plans (in force since 1 January 1985). Legal framework comprising minimum standards for "second pillar" social security that are mandatory for all employees in Switzerland earning a certain income, as well as maximum standards governing occupational benefits. Execution of the provisions of this legislation is carried out by a pension fund, normally a foundation, which is entered in the BVG index. The banks offer a range of special services for implementing these norms, e.g. collective investments, pooled funds and the administration of termination benefits.

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