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Letter D
UBS Dictionary of Banking 
daily balance interest calculation / Staffelmethode / méthode hambourgeoise / metodo scalare
Method customarily used for calculating interest on current accounts, with interest based on the daily balance. Interest is paid on the existing balance until it changes.
day deposit (90 days) / Dreimonatsgeld / dépôt à 3 mois / deposito a tre mesi
Bank deposit from clients or other banks fixed for a term of 90 days. See also time deposit.
dealer / Dealer / dealer / dealer
Someone who, in addition to acting as a buying and selling agent for others, buys and sells for his own account. See also broker.
debenture / Debenture / debenture / debenture
Fixed-interest debt obligation in the form of a security usually issued to bearer. Debentures may be secured or unsecured. See also bond.
debenture bond / Debenture Bond / debenture bond / debenture bond
US: unsecured fixed-rate bond. Frequently sold at a discount since interest and redemption are less certain than in the case of ordinary bonds.
debenture stock / Debenture Stock / debenture stock / debenture stock
US: infrequently used name for preferred stock. UK: an obligation or debt due from a company and secured by a trust deed, usually with real estate property as collateral.
debit card / Debitkarte / carte de débit / carta di debito
A coded plastic card for making cashless payments which allows the holder to draw cash or make payment for goods electronically. See also credit card.
debit interest / Sollzins / intérêt débiteur / interesse debitore
Interest charged by the bank on loans or on overdrawn accounts. Opposite: credit interest.
debt enforcement / Betreibung / poursuite / esecuzione
Legal action to force the debtor to meet his or her payment obligations. Anybody may instigate debt collection procedures at the debt enforcement office at the domicile of the debtor. There are three types of debt enforcement procedure: debt enforcement by seizure, debt enforcement by realization of pledged assets and debt enforcement by bankruptcy proceedings. The procedure applied depends on the debt in question and whether or not the debtor is entered in the commercial register. The debt enforcement office reviews the circumstances and decides on the correct type of debt enforcement procedure on receipt of the appropriate application.
debt enforcement by bankruptcy proceedings / Betreibung auf Konkurs / poursuite par voie de faillite / esecuzione fallimentare
Debt enforcement which seeks to sell all the assets of the debtor. Debt enforcement by bankruptcy proceedings (Art. 39 of the Swiss Federal Law on Debt Collection and Bankruptcy) is generally used if the debtor is a legal entity or is entered in the commercial register with a legally specified function.
debt enforcement by realization of pledged assets / Betreibung auf Pfandverwertung / poursuite en réalisation de gage / esecuzione in via di realizzazione del pegno
Debt enforcement proceedings which seek to sell the pledged assets or mortgages used to secure the debt. This procedure is subject to the existence of a pledge agreement.
debt enforcement by seizure / Betreibung auf Pfändung / poursuite par voie de saisie / esecuzione in via di pignoramento
Debt enforcement applied where no assets have been pledged and the debtor is not entered in the commercial register with a function which renders them subject to debt enforcement by bankruptcy proceedings. Debt enforcement by seizure is the most common type of debt enforcement.
debt register claim / Schuldbuchforderung / créance inscrite au livre de la dette publique / credito scritturale
A claim on the state arising from a loan or credit entered in an official register of debt (Switzerland: Federal Debt Register). No securities are issued for such claims; they are recorded solely in the Register.
debt rescheduling / Umschuldung / rééchelonnement de dettes / ristrutturazione del debito
Adjustment of the terms applying to the existing liabilities of an overindebted company or country; for example, a reduction of interest rates and an extension of the time required for payment. See also moratorium.
debt rescheduling agreement / Schuldenkonsolidierungsabkommen / accord de consolidation de dettes / accordo di consolidamento del debito
Agreement reached with borrowers, usually heavily indebted developing countries, to extend maturities, defer loan principal payments or reduce the interest rate of existing debt, especially by transforming short-term credit into medium- or long-term loans. See also moratorium.
debt-equity swap / Schuldenswap / échange de créances contre actifs / swap del debito
Temporary assignment or conversion of debt into shares or similar equity paper. See also swap.
debtor warrant / Besserungsschein / bon de récupération / buono di ricupero
Written promise from a debtor to make periodic payments to a creditor (payments being contingent on the profits generated by the debtor's company) thus compensating the creditor for not enforcing his right to have a restructuring program imposed on the debtor.
debt-to-equity ratio / Verschuldungsgrad / coefficient d'endettement / grado d'indebitamento
Financial statistic comprising the ratio of a company's debt to its equity.
declaration of indemnity / Schadloserklärung / revers / dichiarazione di manleva
A declaration whereby a person who has received substitute instruments upon the loss of securities, coupons or savings books undertakes to indemnify the bank or company concerned for any improper use of the lost documents.
deep discount bond / Deep-Discount-Bond / obligation fortement escomptée / titolo a sconto
Bond that has a coupon rate far below rates currently available on investments and whose value is at a significant discount from par value. See also zero bond.
default / Verzug / défaillance / inadempienza
Failure to make required debt payments on a timely basis or to comply with other conditions of an obligation or agreement.
default interest / Verzugszins / intérêt moratoire / interesse di mora
The rate of interest charged on an overdue debt, from the date of default to the date of eventual settlement.
default probability / Ausfallwahrscheinlichkeit / probabilité de défaillance / rischio di inadempienza
Likelihood that a counterparty will default on its obligation either over the life of the obligation or over some specified horizon. See also default.
defensive investment / Anlagepapier / titre de placement / titolo d'investimento
Security with comparatively low price and earnings fluctuations in contrast to speculative securities. Defensive investments such as blue chips and bonds are especially suitable for long-term capital investment.
defensive stock / defensive Aktie / valeur défensive / azione difensiva
Share which offers a good return but has only limited appreciation potential. The exposure to declining prices is also only marginal.
deferred payment / Deferred Payment / deferred payment / deferred payment
Expression used for a letter of credit with a deferred payment date (e.g., 90/120/180 days after the date of the bill of lading). No draft is required.
deferred printing of securities / aufgeschobener Titeldruck / impression différée / stampa differita del titolo
System of holding securities in safekeeping in non-certificate form, i.e. purchases and sales are merely recorded in customers' accounts. Security certificates are only printed at the express wish of the customer, e.g. for over-the-counter delivery.
deferred share / Nachzugsaktie / action différée / azione postergata
(1) Stock with more limited rights than ordinary stock. This means that holders of deferred stock only have a claim on earnings once the dividend has been distributed to ordinary shareholders. Opposite: preferred stock; preferred shares; preference shares; preference stock.
(2) A share that does not have any rights to the assets of a company undergoing bankruptcy until all common and preferred shareholders are paid.
(3) A method of stock payment to directors and executives of a company through the deposit of shares into a locked account. The value of these shares fluctuates with the market and they cannot be accessed by the beneficiaries for the purpose of liquidation until they are no longer employees of the company.
(4) A share generally issued to company founders that restricts their receipt of dividends until dividends have been distributed to all other classes of shareholders.
Synonym for deferred stock.
deflation / Deflation / déflation / deflazione
A sharp decline in prices or an increase in the purchasing power of money, brought about by a decrease in the amount of money in circulation relative to the amount of goods and services available. Accompanied as a rule by a contraction in capital spending activity. Opposite: inflation.
delisting / Dekotierung / décotation / delisting
Cancellation of the listing of a security.
delivery note / Lieferschein / bulletin de livraison / bollettino di consegna
Type of waybill accompanying merchandise shipments.
delta / Delta / delta / delta
Statistical measure of the change in the price of an option when the underlying moves one unit in price.
denomination / Stückelung / coupure / taglio
Breakdown of bond issues or capital stock into parts.
deposit base / Bodensatz / niveau plancher / giacenza dei base
Average volume of customer deposits available to the bank for investment at any given time regardless of withdrawal options available to customers.
deposit business / Passivgeschäft / opérations passives / operazioni passive
Transactions under which the bank accepts borrowed funds and thereby assumes liabilities in respect of customers in the form of savings or investments. Also includes the issue of medium-term notes and own offerings. Opposite: lending business.
deposit insurance / Einlagenversicherung / assurance des dépôts / assicurazione dei depositi
In Switzerland there is no state deposit insurance, however Swiss banks offer depositor protection.
depositor protection / Einlegerschutz / protection des déposants / protezione dei depositanti
Safeguard for customer claims in the event of a bank filing for bankruptcy. According to Art. 37a of Switzerland's Banking Law, certain claims are privileged in bankruptcy up to an amount of CHF 30,000. Under a private law agreement between the banks, the latter would advance the amount of these privileged claims in the event of a bankruptcy.
deposits and borrowed funds / Fremdgelder / fonds de tiers / fondi di terzi
Funds (shown in the balance sheet) which a bank or other company borrows from third parties (depositors, shareholders, bondholders, etc). Together with the retained earnings and surplus carried forward, they make up the liabilities. Opposite: equity.
depreciation / Abschreibung / amortissement / ammortamento
Also: amortization; write-off.
(1) The gradual decrease in value of an asset through wear and tear or other factors limiting its usefulness. Fixed assets are depreciated in accounts by regularly reducing their book value in the balance sheet.
(2) Write-down or write-off of doubtful debts or impaired assets. See also credit risk.
deregulation / Deregulierung / déréglementation / deregulation
Dismantling or abolition of state intervention in economic matters with the purpose of reducing the influence of the state in the economy, abolishing bureaucratic obstacles and legal regulations.
derivative / Derivat / dérivé / derivato
Also: derivative instrument, derivative financial instrument. Generic term for synthetic financial products which are linked to an underlying instrument such as shares, bonds, indices, goods etc. See also: financial future, option.
Deutscher Aktienindex / Deutscher Aktienindex / Deutscher Aktienindex / Deutscher Aktienindex
Abbr.: DAX. Stock index, which measures the performance of the 30 largest German companies in terms of order book turnover and market capitalization.
devaluation / Abwertung / dévaluation / svalutazione
Also: depreciation. Reduction of the external value of a currency. In a system of fixed exchange rates or bloc currencies, devaluation is effected by the legal or official lowering of the exchange rate (or parity) of a currency in terms of the other currencies (formerly against gold). In the case of flexible or floating exchange rates, depreciation is the result of a decline in the exchange rate on the currency market in synch with supply and demand. Opposite: revaluation.
direct debiting / Lastschriftverfahren / recouvrement direct / sistema di addebitamento diretto
Also: direct debit system. A method of collection whereby the debtor gives authorization for his/her bank accounts to be debited directly.
direct investment / (1) Direktanlage (2) Direktinvestition / investissement direct / investimento diretto
(1) Direct investment in individual securities instead of, for example, in funds.
(2) Capital export, i.e. by acquiring, establishing or making a strategic investment in companies abroad.
direct listing / direkte Kotierung / cotation directe / quotazione diretta
In currency trading: price quote for a currency in which one unit (or 100 units) of a foreign currency are expressed in units of the domestic currency. See also indirect listing.
direct mortgage loan / direkter Hypothekarkredit / crédit hypothécaire direct / credito ipotecario diretto
Under a direct mortgage loan, the bank is granted a mortgage lien as security for its credit exposure. Where security is given in the form of a mortgage note, this becomes the property of the bank. If the bank's claims are not met when due, it can take legal action to enforce the sale of the underlying property and use the proceeds to settle the outstanding debt directly. See also mortgage loan, indirect mortgage loan.
dirty floating / schmutziges Floating / flottement impur / fluttuazione controllata
Currency policy which in principle recognizes the free movement of exchange rates but where interventions are nonetheless made with some frequency in an attempt to influence the exchange rate. See also floating.
disagio / Disagio / disagio / disaggio
Also: discount. The difference between the nominal or par value and the underlying market value, e.g. if the issue or market price expressed in percent of the nominal value drops below par (i.e. below 100). In foreign exchange operations, it is the term for the discount charged for exchanging a depreciated foreign currency and the charge or discount deducted for exchanging abraded or worn coins. See also premium (1).
disclosed reserves / offene Reserven / réserves ouvertes / riserve palesi
Also: published reserves, declared reserves. Reserves openly reported in a company's balance sheet. Opposite: undisclosed reserves.
disclosure of holdings / Offenlegung von Beteiligungen / publicité des participations / pubblicità delle partecipazioni
Provision contained in Switzerland's Stock Exchange Act stipulating that the shareholders of listed companies must disclose share purchases or sales that result in their voting rights exceeding or falling below a threshold of 5, 10, 20, 33 1/3, 50 or 66 2/3% of the company's total voting rights.
discount / (1) Skonto (2) Diskont / escompte / sconto
(1) Price reduction expressed in percent which may be deducted from the invoiced amount if payment is made within a specified period.
(2) Interest deducted in advance if claims falling due later, esp. drafts and bills, are purchased. The net amount of the claim after deduction of the discount is immediately credited to the beneficiary upon presentation. Discounting is usually effected by a bank.
(3) Synonym for disagio.
discount broker / Discount-Broker / discount-broker / discount broker
Broker who executes stock exchange transactions at favourable rates but without providing advice.
discount credit / Diskontkredit / crédit d'escompte / credito di sconto
Credit or discount line granted to a customer by a bank to provide liquidity by discounting bills of exchange or similar commercial paper. On the strength of the discount approval, the customer can have bills discounted up to a stipulated total amount, but, having endorsed the bill, remains liable along with the other endorsers as joint and several debtor until the bill is paid on maturity.
discount in advance / eskomptieren / escompter / scontare
To anticipate the future trend and performance of investments by placing a higher or lower value on them. For example, the announcement of a dividend increase is discounted by an increase in the market price of the related share.
discount rate / Diskontsatz / taux d'escompte / tasso di sconto
The percentage rate of interest which a bank or other lender deducts in advance from loans made, or from the face value of bills of exchange or commercial paper bought. It is calculated for the period from presentation to maturity of the instrument. The amount of the discount rate depends on the liquidity of the financial markets and the party liable under the bill. Swiss commercial banks apply the private discount rate in their discounting operations; as a rule, this is higher than the official discount rate of the Swiss National Bank.
discretionary / diskretionär / discrétionnaire / discrezionale
Safeguarding, fiduciary. Used in banking for account and custody account maintenance with a management agreement. See also managed account.
disintermediation / Disintermediation / désintermédiation / disintermediazione
Trend away from bank to market financing or - seen from the banks' perspective - away from balance-sheet to off-balance-sheet operations. Banks are acting less as independent deposit-takers and lenders and more as intermediaries between investors and borrowers. See also securitization.
distribution / Ausschüttung / répartition / distribuzione
(1) Payment of dividend(s) on shares and participation certificates to shareholders.
(2) Payment of the income of a fund to the holders of investment fund certificates.
(3) Payment of interest on bonds to the bondholders.
distribution fund / ausschüttender Fonds / fonds de répartition / fondo a distribuzione
Investment fund which distributes the bulk of its earnings to unitholders. Opposite: capital appreciation fund.
distribution yield / Ausschüttungsrendite / rendement sur distribution / rendimento degli utili distribuiti
Ratio of the income distributed to the current market price of an investment fund, less any accrued earnings since the end of the reporting year which are contained therein. See also distribution, dividend yield.
diversification / Diversifikation / diversification / diversificazione
A strategy of spreading an investment over different assets in order to reduce the risk of earnings fluctuations.
dividend / Dividende / dividende / dividendo
A share in the profits of a limited company (corporation) or cooperative. The rate of dividend is determined at the General Meeting upon the proposal of the Board of Directors. Distributions to the owners of participation certificates and dividend-right certificates are also called dividends. Dividends can take the form of a cash dividend (payment in cash), stock dividends and dividends in kind.
dividend coupon / Gewinnanteilschein / part bénéficiaire / cedola di partecipazione all'utile
Securitized claim to a share in the profit or dividend. Dividend coupons may be attached to regular shares, dividend-right certificates or participation certificates. Not customary in the United States. Opposite: fixed-interest securities.
Dividend Discount Model / Dividend-Discount-Modell / Dividend discount model / Dividend discount model
Model for calculating the current value of a share which consists in discounting future dividends anticipated.
dividend yield / Dividendenrendite / rendement sur dividendes / tasso di rendimento azionario
Also: stock yield. Ratio showing the yield on an equity investment calculated by dividing the dividend by the current share price and which enables a comparison to be made with other returns obtainable in the capital markets.
dividend-right certificate / Genussschein / bon de jouissance / buono di godimento
Equity paper which does not confer any ownership rights but grants the holder the right to participate in the net profit and the liquidation proceeds, as well as the right to subscribe to new shares.
divisional coin / Scheidemünze / monnaie divisionnaire / moneta divisionale
Inferior coin that need only be accepted as legal tender up to a certain amount (in Switzerland, a maximum of 100 coins). As a rule, the value of the metal contained in divisional coins is less than the nominal value stamped on them. See also full legal tender coins (1).
documentary acceptance credit / Rembourskredit / crédit de remboursement / credito di rimborso
Acceptance credit used for import or export financing. Usually secured by an irrevocable documentary credit issued by the buyer's bank. See also documentary credit.
documentary collection / Dokumentarinkasso / encaissement documentaire / incasso documentario
The collection of a sum due from a buyer by a bank against delivery of certain documents. The bank undertaking the collection only delivers the documents once the prescribed conditions have been fulfilled. Documentary collection offers exporters considerably more security than is offered by an open account basis, however not as much security as is offered by the documentary credit.
documentary credit / Dokumentenakkreditiv / crédit documentaire / credito documentario
Also: letter of credit, import credit, export credit. The most common form of the commercial letter of credit, the documentary credit is an arrangement for the safe negotiation of a payment and credit transaction, esp. in connection with international deliveries of merchandise. The documentary credit covering merchandise consists of a written undertaking on the part of a bank to pay, on instructions from the buyer, a certain amount to the seller within a prescribed period and against surrender of stipulated documents covering the shipment of goods contracted for between seller and buyer, to accept said payment or to negotiate it, or to authorize another bank to make such payments or draft negotiations if the conditions are met. All instructions to open, confirm or advise of a documentary credit must list precisely the documents to be presented. Permissible documents include: bill of lading, insurance documents, trading invoice, consular invoice, certificate of origin, weight and quality certificates. A documentary credit can be revocable or irrevocable.
Unless expressly stated to the contrary it is regarded as irrevocable. The basis for the execution of documentary credit is provided by the «Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Letters of Credit» (UCP) drafted by the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris.
documentary draft / Dokumentartratte / traite documentaire / tratta documentaria
A draft drawn by the seller on the buyer and accepted by the latter in connection with a documentary collection. If the draft contains the notation D/A (documents against acceptance) the documents are handed over upon acceptance of the draft. If it is marked D/P (documents against payment), they are handed over only after the acceptance has been paid. See also draft.
documents against acceptance / Documents against Acceptance / documents against acceptance / documents against acceptance
Abbr.: D/A. Notation used in foreign trade transactions signifying that documents may be surrendered to the drawee only against acceptance of the accompanying bill.
documents against payment / Documents against Payment / documents against payment / documents against payment
Abbr.: D/P. Notation used in foreign trade transactions indicating that documents may be handed over to the buyer only against payment.
dollar roll / Dollar-Roll / dollar roll / dollar roll
Relatively common transaction in the US mortgage-backed securities market that is similar to a reverse repo transaction. A client sells a security for normal settlement (2-3 days) and agrees to repurchase similar securities for future settlement (typically one month). It is basically a financing of securities for the repurchaser.
domestic bond / Inlandanleihe / emprunt intérieur / prestito interno
Bond issue placed for public subscription by a borrower who is domiciled in the country where the issue is floated. Opposite: foreign bond issue.
domestic economy / Binnenwirtschaft / activité domestique / economia interna
Economic activity that does not include any cross-border transfer of goods, services and money flow.
domiciled bill / Domizilwechsel / effet domicilié / cambiale domiciliata
Bill containing a domicile clause which shows where the bill is payable. In actual practice, bills are usually domiciled at the bank of the acceptor.
Double Eagle / Double Eagle / Double Eagle / Double Eagle
US 20 dollar gold coin bearing the image of an eagle. See also Eagle.
double taxation / Doppelbesteuerung / double imposition / doppia imposizione
The practice of taxing the same wealth, income or property twice with different taxes or by the tax authorities of two different countries.
double taxation agreement / Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen / convention contre la double imposition / convenzione per evitare la doppia imposizione
Also: double taxation treaty. Agreement (or treaty) signed between different nations for the purpose of eradicating or alleviating the effects of double taxation. The OECD has drafted a model treaty and recommendations.
Dow Jones Index / Dow-Jones-Index / indice Dow Jones / indice Dow Jones
Also Dow Jones Industrial Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average. Share index of the New York Stock Exchange which has been regularly calculated since 1897 and which includes the top 30 US companies. Dow Jones & Company calculates this index along with a whole range of other indices.
Dow Jones STOXX / Dow Jones STOXX / Dow Jones STOXX / Dow Jones STOXX
Family of indices produced jointly by the Deutsche Börse AG, SWX Swiss Exchange as well as the media company Dow Jones via the company Stoxx Ltd. Dow Jones STOXX includes indices for European countries and for the euro currency zone. Website: www.stoxx.com.
downgrade / Downgrade / dégrader / downgrade
Negative change in ratings for a security. An example is an analyst's downgrading of a stock such as from "buy" to "sell".
draw by lot / Auslosung / tirage au sort / estrazione di titoli
Lots are drawn to determine which bonds are to be redeemed according to the redemption schedule.
drawee / Trassat / tiré / trattario
(1) In terms of the law pertaining to bills of exchange: person or firm in whose name a bill of exchange has been made out (person ordered to pay under the bill). The drawee is only subject to legal obligations in respect of the bill of exchange when he/she/it has accepted the latter. See also acceptance.
(2) In terms of the law pertaining to cheques: the bank on which a cheque was drawn and which cashes the cheque to the debit of the drawer provided the necessary cover is available.
dual currency bond / Doppelwährungsanleihe / emprunt à deux monnaies / obbligazione in valuta doppia
A bond issue where interest payments are not made in the same currency as the payments of the principal. In Switzerland, this type of issue is limited to foreign bonds. As a rule issue and interest payments are generally made in CHF, while payments of principal are made in USD. The variety of dual currency loans on the Euromarket is considerably larger.
due date / (1) Echéance, Fälligkeit (2) Verfalltag / échéance / scadenza
(1) Due date, in particular for coupons of securities.
(2) Also: maturity date, expiration date. The date on which a debt (such as a bond) becomes payable or when an option expires. If the debtor fails to perform payment by that date, he is said to be in default.
due diligence / Due Diligence / due diligence / due diligence
Detailed check of a company's financial position, results of operations and cash flows, its strengths and weaknesses, future potential and the risks it is subject to; conducted prior to a planned merger or takeover.
due diligence agreement / Sorgfaltspflichtvereinbarung / Convention relative à l'obligation de diligence des banques / Convenzione relativa all'obbligo di diligenza delle banche
The Agreement on the Swiss banks' code of conduct with regard to the exercise of due diligence (CDB) is a multilateral agreement between the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) and banks domiciled in Switzerland. By signing the Agreement banks place themselves under an obligation to the SBA to identify their contracting partners and, in cases of doubt, to obtain a declaration as to the identity of the beneficial owner of the deposited assets. The banks also place themselves under an obligation not to provide any active assistance in the flight of capital or tax evasion. The original CDB dates from 1977, and it has been revised and made more stringent several times since then. The CDB is now also a key instrument in combating money laundering and served as the model for the Money Laundering Act.
due from banks and customers / Debitoren / débiteurs / debitori
Synonym for receivables. Antonym: due to banks and customers.
duration / Laufzeit / durée / durata
Also: term; maturity; life.
(1) The time that elapses from the date a debenture is issued until it is repaid.
(2) The time for which a loan or credit is granted.
Dutch auction / Dutch-Auction / adjudication à la hollandaise / asta olandese
Method of sale by auction which consists of an initial public offer at a maximum price which is then gradually lowered until someone makes an offer at the current price and becomes the purchaser. See also auction, English auction.
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