Definition of Asset swap

Asset swap

An interest rate swap used to alter the cash flow characteristics of an institution's assets so as to
provide a better match with its iabilities.

Asset for asset swap

Creditors exchange the debt of one defaulting borrower for the debt of another
defaulting borrower.

Acquisition of assets

A merger or consolidation in which an acquirer purchases the selling firm's assets.

Amortizing interest rate swap

swap in which the principal or national amount rises (falls) as interest rates
rise (decline).

Asset

Any possession that has value in an exchange.

Asset/equity ratio

The ratio of total assets to stockholder equity.

Asset/liability management

Also called surplus management, the task of managing funds of a financial
institution to accomplish the two goals of a financial institution:
1) to earn an adequate return on funds invested, and
2) to maintain a comfortable surplus of assets beyond liabilities.

Asset activity ratios

Ratios that measure how effectively the firm is managing its assets.

Asset allocation decision

The decision regarding how an institution's funds should be distributed among the
major classes of assets in which it may invest.

Asset-backed security

A security that is collateralized by loans, leases, receivables, or installment contracts
on personal property, not real estate.

Asset-based financing

Methods of financing in which lenders and equity investors look principally to the
cash flow from a particular asset or set of assets for a return on, and the return of, their financing.

Asset classes

Categories of assets, such as stocks, bonds, real estate and foreign securities.

Asset-coverage test

A bond indenture restriction that permits additional borrowing on if the ratio of assets to
debt does not fall below a specified minimum.

Asset pricing model

A model for determining the required rate of return on an asset.

Asset substitution

A firm's investing in assets that are riskier than those that the debtholders expected.

Asset substitution problem

Arises when the stockholders substitute riskier assets for the firm's existing
assets and expropriate value from the debtholders.

Asset turnover

The ratio of net sales to total assets.

Asset pricing model

A model, such as the Capital asset Pricing Model (CAPM), that determines the required
rate of return on a particular asset.

Assets

A firm's productive resources.

Assets requirements

A common element of a financial plan that describes projected capital spending and the
proposed uses of net working capital.

Call swaption

A swaption in which the buyer has the right to enter into a swap as a fixed-rate payer. The
writer therefore becomes the fixed-rate receiver/floating rate payer.

Capital asset pricing model (CAPM)

An economic theory that describes the relationship between risk and
expected return, and serves as a model for the pricing of risky securities. The CAPM asserts that the only risk
that is priced by rational investors is systematic risk, because that risk cannot be eliminated by diversification.
The CAPM says that the expected return of a security or a portfolio is equal to the rate on a risk-free security
plus a risk premium.

Circus swap

A fixed rate currency swap against floating U.S. dollar LIBOR payments.

Currency swap

An agreement to swap a series of specified payment obligations denominated in one currency
for a series of specified payment obligations denominated in a different currency.

Current assets

Value of cash, accounts receivable, inventories, marketable securities and other assets that
could be converted to cash in less than 1 year.

Debt swap

A set of transactions (also called a debt-equity swap) in which a firm buys a country's dollar bank
debt at a discount and swaps this debt with the central bank for local currency that it can use to acquire local
equity.

Differential swap

swap between two LIBO rates of interest, e.g. yen LIBOR for dollar LIBOR. Payments are
in one currency.

Dynamic asset allocation

An asset allocation strategy in which the asset mix is mechanistically shifted in
response to -changing market conditions, as in a portfolio insurance strategy, for example.

Equity swap

A swap in which the cash flows that are exchanged are based on the total return on some stock
market index and an interest rate (either a fixed rate or a floating rate). Related: interest rate swap.

Exchange of assets

Acquisition of another company by purchase of its assets in exchange for cash or stock.

Extension swap

Extending maturity through a swap, e.g. selling a 2-year note and buying one with a slightly
longer current maturity.

Financial assets

Claims on real assets.

Fixed asset

Long-lived property owned by a firm that is used by a firm in the production of its income.
Tangible fixed assets include real estate, plant, and equipment. Intangible fixed assets include patents,
trademarks, and customer recognition.

Fixed asset turnover ratio

The ratio of sales to fixed assets.

Foreign exchange swap

An agreement to exchange stipulated amounts of one currency for another currency
at one or more future dates.

Intangible asset

A legal claim to some future benefit, typically a claim to future cash. Goodwill, intellectual
property, patents, copyrights, and trademarks are examples of intangible assets.

Interest rate swap

A binding agreement between counterparties to exchange periodic interest payments on
some predetermined dollar principal, which is called the notional principal amount. For example, one party
will pay fixed and receive variable.

Intermarket spread swaps

An exchange of one bond for another based on the manager's projection of a
realignment of spreads between sectors of the bond market.

Liability swap

An interest rate swap used to alter the cash flow characteristics of an institution's liabilities so
as to provide a better match with its assets.

Liquid asset

asset that is easily and cheaply turned into cash - notably cash itself and short-term securities.

Long-term assets

Value of property, equipment and other capital assets minus the depreciation. This is an
entry in the bookkeeping records of a company, usually on a "cost" basis and thus does not necessarily reflect
the market value of the assets.

Limitation on asset dispositions

A bond covenant that restricts in some way a firm's ability to sell major assets.

Net asset value (NAV)

The value of a fund's investments. For a mutual fund, the net asset value per share
usually represents the fund's market price, subject to a possible sales or redemption charge. For a closed end
fund, the market price may vary significantly from the net asset value.

Net assets

The difference between total assets on the one hand and current liabilities and noncapitalized longterm
liabilities on the other hand.

Non-reproducible assets

A tangible asset with unique physical properties, like a parcel of land, a mine, or a
work of art.

Other current assets

Value of non-cash assets, including prepaid expenses and accounts receivable, due
within 1 year.

Policy asset allocation

A long-term asset allocation method, in which the investor seeks to assess an
appropriate long-term "normal" asset mix that represents an ideal blend of controlled risk and enhanced
return.

Publicly traded assets

assets that can be traded in a public market, such as the stock market.

Pure yield pickup swap

Moving to higher yield bonds.

Put swaption

A financial tool in which the buyer has the right, or option, to enter into a swap as a floatingrate
payer. The writer of the swaption therefore becomes the floating-rate receiver/fixed-rate payer.

Quanto swap

See: differential swap.

Quick assets

Current assets minus inventories.

Rate anticipation swaps

An exchange of bonds in a portfolio for new bonds that will achieve the target
portfolio duration, based on the investor's assumptions about future changes in interest rates.

Real assets

Identifiable assets, such as buildings, equipment, patents, and trademarks, as distinguished from a
financial obligation.

Reproducible assets

A tangible asset with physical properties that can be reproduced, such as a building or
machinery.

Residual assets

assets that remain after sufficient assets are dedicated to meet all senior debtholder's claims in full.

Return on assets (ROA)

Indicator of profitability. Determined by dividing net income for the past 12 months
by total average assets. Result is shown as a percentage. ROA can be decomposed into return on sales (net
income/sales) multiplied by asset utilization (sales/assets).

Return on total assets

The ratio of earnings available to common stockholders to total assets.

Riskless or risk-free asset

An asset whose future return is known today with certainty. The risk free asset is
commonly defined as short-term obligations of the U.S. government.

Risky asset

An asset whose future return is uncertain.

Risk-free asset

An asset whose future return is known today with certainty.

Substitution swap

A swap in which a money manager exchanges one bond for another bond that is similar in
terms of coupon, maturity, and credit quality, but offers a higher yield.

Swap

An arrangement whereby two companies lend to each other on different terms, e.g. in different
currencies, and/or at different interest rates, fixed or floating.

Swap assignment

Related: swap sale.

Swap buy-back

The sale of an interest rate swap by one counterparty to the other, effectively ending the swap.

Swap optio

See: swaption.
Related: Quality option.

Swap rate

The difference between spot and forward rates expressed in points, e.g., $0.0001 per pound sterling.

Swap reversal

An interest rate swap designed to end a counterparty's role in another interest rate swap,
accomplished by counterbalancing the original swap in maturity, reference rate, and notional amount.

Swap sale

Also called a swap assignment, a transaction that ends one counterparty's role in an interest rate
swap by substituting a new counterparty whose credit is acceptable to the other original counterparty.

Swaption

Options on interest rate swaps. The buyer of a swaption has the right to enter into an interest rate
swap agreement by some specified date in the future. The swaption agreement will specify whether the buyer
of the swaption will be a fixed-rate receiver or a fixed-rate payer. The writer of the swaption becomes the
counterparty to the swap if the buyer exercises.

Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA)

An asset allocation strategy that allows active departures from the normal
asset mix based upon rigorous objective measures of value. Often called active management. It involves
forecasting asset returns, volatilities and correlations. The forecasted variables may be functions of
fundamental variables, economic variables or even technical variables.

Tangible asset

An asset whose value depends on particular physical properties. These i nclude reproducible
assets such as buildings or machinery and non-reproducible assets such as land, a mine, or a work of art. Also
called real assets. Related: Intangible asset

Tax swap

swapping two similar bonds to receive a tax benefit.

Total asset turnover

The ratio of net sales to total assets.

Underlying asset

The asset that an option gives the option holder the right to buy or to sell.

Wasting asset

An asset which has a limited life and thus, decreases in value (depreciates) over time. Also
applied to consumed assets, such as gas, and termed "depletion."

ASSETS

Anything of value that a company owns.

Current assets

Cash, things that will be converted into cash within a year (such as accounts receivable), and inventory.

RATE OF RETURN ON TOTAL ASSETS

The percentage return or profit that management made on each dollar of assets. The formula is:
(Net income) / (Total assets)

Assets

Things that the business owns.

Current assets

Amounts receivable by the business within a period of 12 months, including bank, debtors, inventory and prepayments.

Fixed assets

Things that the business owns and are part of the business infrastructure – fixed assets may be
tangible or intangible.

Intangible fixed assets

Non-physical assets, e.g. customer goodwill or intellectual property (patents and trademarks).

Tangible fixed assets

Physical assets that can be seen and touched, e.g. buildings, machinery, vehicles, computers etc.

Assets

Items owned by the company or expenses that have been paid for but have not been used up.

Contra-asset account

An offset to an asset account that reduces the balance of the asset account.

Intangible assets

assets owned by the company that do not possess physical substance; they usually take the form of rights and privileges such as patents, copyrights, and franchises.

asset turnover ratio

A broad-gauge ratio computed by dividing annual
sales revenue by total assets. It is a rough measure of the sales-generating
power of assets. The idea is that assets are used to make sales, and the
sales should lead to profit. The ultimate test is not sales revenue on
assets, but the profit earned on assets as measured by the return on
assets (ROA) ratio.

current assets

Current refers to cash and those assets that will be turned
into cash in the short run. Five types of assets are classified as current:
cash, short-term marketable investments, accounts receivable, inventories,
and prepaid expenses—and they are generally listed in this order in
the balance sheet.

fixed assets

An informal term that refers to the variety of long-term operating
resources used by a business in its operations—including real
estate, machinery, equipment, tools, vehicles, office furniture, computers,
and so on. In balance sheets, these assets are typically labeled property,
plant, and equipment. The term fixed assets captures the idea that the
assets are relatively fixed in place and are not held for sale in the normal
course of business. The cost of fixed assets, except land, is depreciated,
which means the cost is allocated over the estimated useful lives of the
assets.

return on assets (ROA)

Although there is no single uniform practice for
calculating this ratio, generally it equals operating profit (before interest
and income tax) for a year divided by the total assets that are used to
generate the profit. ROA is the key ratio to test whether a business is
earning enough on its assets to cover its cost of capital. ROA is used for
determining financial leverage gain (or loss).

Asset-specific Risk

The amount of total risk that can be eliminated by diversification by
creating a portfolio. Also known as company-specific risk or
unsystematic risk.

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)

A model for estimating equilibrium rates of return and values of
assets in financial markets; uses beta as a measure of asset risk
relative to market risk

Fixed Assets Turnover Ratio

A measure of the utilization of a company's fixed assets to
generate sales. It is calculated by dividing the sales for the period
by the book value of the net fixed assets.

Return on Total Assets Ratio

A measure of the percentage return earned on the value of the
assets in the company. It is calculated by dividing the net income
available for distribution to shareholders by the book value of all
assets.

Swap

An exchange of cash flows between two counterparties. The
counterparties may exchange flows in different currencies
(currency swap) or exchange floating interest rate payments for
fixed rate payments (interest rate swap).

Total Asset Turnover Ratio

A measure of the utilization of all of a company's assets to
generate sales. It is calculated by dividing the sales figure for the
period by the book value of the net fixed assets.

Total Debt to Total Assets Ratio

See debt ratio

asset turnover

a ratio measuring asset productivity and showing the number of sales dollars generated by each dollar of assets

capital asset

an asset used to generate revenues or cost savings
by providing production, distribution, or service capabilities
for more than one year

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