UBS Dictionary of Banking

Wa

WAL
Abbr. for weighted average life.

Wall Street / Wall Street / Wall Street / Wall Street
In stock market jargon, synonymous with the New York Stock Exchange and the financial centre of New York. Wall Street is the street that runs through New York's financial district.

warehouse receipt / Lagerempfangsschein / récépissé d'entrepôt / ricevuta di deposito
Also: warrant. Receipt given by a warehouse for goods stored on its premises. Merely a confirmation, not a tradable instrument.

warrant / Warrant / warrant / warrant
(1) Warehouse or pledge receipt. In some countries these have the characteristics of securities.
(2) Securities underwriting: short for subscription warrant.

warrant issue / Optionsanleihe / emprunt à option / obbligazione cum warrant
Also: bonds with warrants. Bond issue which bears interest throughout its term to maturity and features a warrant which embodies the right to purchase a share or other security. The warrant may be traded separately from the bond. See also convertible bond issue.

watering down effect / Verwässerung / dilution / annacquamento
Also: dilution. Loss in the value of the equity paper issued by a company due to the placement of additional stock.

waybill / Frachtbrief / lettre de voiture / lettera di vettura
A written list detailing goods included in a shipment by rail or road. Unlike a bill of lading, it does not have the status of a security.

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We

wealth management
Synonym for portfolio management.

weighted average life / gewichtete durchschnittliche Laufzeit / durée moyenne pondérée / scadenza media ponderata
Abbr.: WAL. Maturity of each position in a mortgage pool or other debt instrument portfolio weighted by the value of the position to compute an average maturity for the pool.

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Wh

when, as and if issued
A term referring to a transaction made conditionally because a security, although authorized, has not yet been issued.

white knight / Weisser Ritter / chevalier blanc / cavaliere bianco
Company that comes to the aid of another company that is the subject of a planned unfriendly takeover. A white knight often buys larger blocks of shares or makes a merger offer. See also black knight.

wholesale banking / Wholesale-Banking / wholesale banking / wholesale banking
A bank's business with large corporate clients. Opposite: retail banking.

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Wi

willingness to accept risk
Synonym for risk tolerance.

willingness to pay / Zahlungsbereitschaft / solvabilité / disponibilità di pagamento
Willingness of a company to meet its payment obligations. See also liquidity, solvency.

window dressing / Window-Dressing / window dressing / window dressing
(1) Trading activity used by mutual fund and portfolio managers near the year end or quarter end to improve the appearance of the portfolio/fund performance before presenting it to clients or shareholders.
(2) Bank accounting policy: increasing total assets by taking up interbank assets prior to a reference date so as to present higher liquidity.

WINGS / WINGS / WINGS / WINGS
Abbreviation for Warrants Into Negotiable Government Securities.

WIR / WIR / WIR / WIR
Abbreviation for Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft, a cooperative based in Basel that has been operating a cashless payments system on the basis of a closed circular flow of money since 1934. See also WIR cheque.

WIR cheque / WIR-Check / chèque WIR / assegno WIR
Booking orders issued by the individual members of WIR. WIR cheques are not cheques as defined under Swiss law. WIR booking orders are never paid out in cash, but instead entitle the bearer to acquire goods and services offered by WIR participants by way of exchange.

withholding tax / Verrechnungssteuer / impôt anticipé / imposta preventiva
In Switzerland, this source tax is imposed at the current rate of 35% on domestic income from capital gains and lottery winnings in excess of CHF 50. Tax payments can be reclaimed by persons filing Swiss federal tax returns or credited against cantonal tax liabilities. Individuals and companies domiciled abroad may claim a refund of Swiss withholding tax under double taxation treaties concluded between their country of domicile and Switzerland.

without our liability / ohne Obligo / sans engagement / senza obbligo
Also: without our guarantee. This or a similar note is used in banking mainly in the following contexts:
(1) to refuse any liability in connection with information provided to a third party
(2) refusal by a bill endorser to be held liable if the bill is dishonored. See also liability under bills of exchange.

without protest / ohne Protest / sans protêt / senza protesto
Notation used by the issuer, endorser or guarantor of a bill of exchange to protect the holder against the bill being protested due to non-payment or non-acceptance. See also protest.

without recourse
Synonym for without our liability.

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Wo

working capital loan / Betriebskredit / crédit d'exploitation / credito d'esercizio
Loan granted to temporarily strengthen the working capital of companies and self-employed persons to ease a shortage of liquidity. See also capital investment loan.

World Bank / Weltbank / Banque mondiale / Banca mondiale
Name commonly used for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Like the International Monetary Fund, it was established in 1944 at Bretton Woods (USA) and has its headquarters in Washington. Both institutions now have more than 180 member countries. Switzerland has been a member since May 1992. The World Bank's primary mission is to fight poverty. In particular, it grants long-term investment loans to developing countries and finances long-term projects aimed at improving the economic and ecological standard of living of the population. Website: www.worldbank.org.

worthless security / Nonvaleur / non-valeur / titolo privo di valore
Also: valueless security. Security that has lost its value and expired and become a collector's item, or apparently worthless security of a permanently illiquid issuer with a correspondingly poor rating.

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Wr

writer / Writer / souscripteur / writer
Synonym for issuer of a covered warrant.

writer of a covered warrant
Synonym for issuer of a covered warrant.

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