A financial intermediary that performs a variety of services. This includes underwriting, acting as an intermediary between an issuer of securities and the investing public, facilitating mergers and other corporate reorganizations, and also acting as a broker for institutional clients. |||The role of the investment bank begins with pre-underwriting counseling and continues after the distribution of securities in the form of advice.
A futures broker who has a direct relationship with a client, but delegates the work of the floor operation and trade execution to another futures merchant. The merchant firm is usually a close partner of the IB. |||This is done to increase efficiency and lower the work load for futures brokers. It allows the IB to focus on the client while the futures merchant focuses on trading floor operations.
A company that furnishes corporations and individual consumers with various services, mainly access to the internet. |||Services provided by an ISP include internet access, web hosting and website design.
An association created by the private negotiated derivatives market that represents participating parties. This association helps to improve the private negotiated derivatives market by identifying and reducing risks in the market. |||Created in 1985, the ISDA has members from institutions around the world. It was created to improve the private negotiated derivatives market by making it easier for the institutions that deal in the market to network.
A macroeconomic model that graphically represents two intersecting curves, called the IS and LM curves. The investment/saving (IS) curve is a variation of the income-expenditure model incorporating market interest rates (demand for this model), while the liquidity preference/money supply equilibrium (LM) curve represents the amount of money available for investing (supply for this model). |||The model attempts to explain the investing decisions made by investors given the amount of money they have available and the interest rate they will receive. Equilibrium occurs when the amount of money invested equals the amount of money available for investing.
An international organization that issues guiding principles and standards within the banking, insurance and capital market sectors in order to promote stability in the Islamic financial services industry. The ISFB consists of: The general assembly, which includes all members of the ISFB The council, which acts as the policy making body of the IFSB and includes the senior executive of each full member of the organization The technical committee, which advises the council on issues and consists of up to 15 persons appointed by the council The working group, which drafts standards and guidelines and reports to the technical committee The secretariat, which acts as the permanent administrative body and is headed by a secretary-general appointed by the council |||based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the IFSB began operations in early 2003. The IFSB issues standards and principles in the areas of capital adequacy, corporate governance, risk management and transparency, among others. The goal of the IFSB is to promote the awareness of issues that could have an impact on the Islamic financial services industry. It issues Sharia-compliant standards, holds conferences and seminars, and provides guidance and supervision, among other initiatives.
A letter of credit that can't be canceled. This guarantees that a buyer's payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. |||This is often used in international transactions.
A department, present in most medium to large public companies, that provides investors with an accurate account of the company's affairs. This helps investors to make informed buy or sell decisions. |||A company's investor relations department serves as a bridge for providing market intelligence to corporate management.