💰Finance Unit 2 – Financial Markets and Institutions

Key Concepts and Definitions

• Financial markets facilitate the exchange of financial assets and securities between buyers and sellers
• Financial institutions act as intermediaries in financial markets, connecting savers and borrowers
• Primary markets involve the issuance of new securities, while secondary markets enable the trading of existing securities
• Liquidity refers to the ease with which an asset can be converted into cash without affecting its market price
• Market efficiency describes the degree to which market prices reflect all available information
• Systemic risk is the risk of a breakdown in the entire financial system, often caused by the failure of one or more major financial institutions
• Moral hazard occurs when individuals or institutions take excessive risks because they believe they will be protected from the consequences of their actions

Financial Market Structure

• Financial markets can be classified based on the type of securities traded (debt, equity, derivatives) and the maturity of the securities (money market, capital market)
• Over-the-counter (OTC) markets involve direct transactions between buyers and sellers, while exchange-traded markets are centralized and regulated
• Dealer markets rely on market makers to provide liquidity by continuously quoting bid and ask prices, while auction markets match buyers and sellers through a competitive bidding process
• Dark pools are private exchanges where large institutional investors can trade anonymously to minimize the impact of their trades on market prices
• High-frequency trading (HFT) uses advanced algorithms and high-speed networks to execute large volumes of trades in fractions of a second
  • HFT can improve market liquidity and efficiency but may also contribute to market volatility and instability
• Fragmentation of financial markets has increased with the proliferation of alternative trading systems (ATS) and electronic communication networks (ECNs)

Types of Financial Institutions

• Commercial banks accept deposits and provide loans to individuals and businesses, earning a profit from the interest rate spread
• Investment banks underwrite and distribute securities, provide advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, and facilitate trading in financial markets
• Insurance companies pool risks and provide financial protection against losses in exchange for premium payments
  • Life insurance provides financial support to beneficiaries upon the death of the insured
  • Property and casualty insurance covers losses from accidents, natural disasters, and other events
• Pension funds and mutual funds pool money from individual investors to invest in a diversified portfolio of securities
• Hedge funds are private investment vehicles that use complex strategies to generate high returns, often with higher risks and fees
• Credit unions are member-owned financial cooperatives that provide banking services to their members

Role of Central Banks

• Central banks, such as the Federal Reserve in the United States, are responsible for conducting monetary policy to promote economic stability and growth
• Open market operations involve the buying and selling of government securities to influence the money supply and interest rates
• Central banks set the discount rate, which is the interest rate charged to commercial banks for short-term loans
• Reserve requirements determine the amount of customer deposits that banks must hold in reserve, influencing the banks' lending capacity
• Central banks act as lenders of last resort, providing liquidity to financial institutions during times of crisis to prevent systemic failures
• Quantitative easing (QE) is an unconventional monetary policy tool used by central banks to stimulate the economy by purchasing large amounts of financial assets
• Forward guidance is a communication strategy used by central banks to manage market expectations about future monetary policy actions

Financial Instruments and Securities

• Bonds are debt securities that represent a loan from the investor to the issuer, with the issuer obligated to pay interest and repay the principal at maturity
  • Government bonds are issued by national governments and are considered low-risk investments
  • Corporate bonds are issued by companies and offer higher yields but also higher credit risk
• Stocks represent ownership shares in a company, with stockholders entitled to a portion of the company's profits and voting rights
• Derivatives are financial contracts whose value is derived from an underlying asset, such as stocks, bonds, commodities, or currencies
  • Options give the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy (call option) or sell (put option) an asset at a predetermined price and date
  • Futures contracts obligate the buyer and seller to exchange an asset at a predetermined price and date
• Asset-backed securities (ABS) are created by pooling together loans or other financial assets and selling them as a single security
• Collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) are complex structured products that pool together different tranches of debt securities with varying levels of risk and return

Market Efficiency and Regulation

• The efficient market hypothesis (EMH) states that market prices fully reflect all available information, making it impossible to consistently outperform the market
  • Weak-form efficiency suggests that past price information is fully incorporated into current prices
  • Semi-strong form efficiency implies that all publicly available information is quickly reflected in market prices
  • Strong-form efficiency asserts that even private or insider information is fully incorporated into prices
• Market anomalies, such as the January effect and the small-firm effect, challenge the EMH by revealing predictable patterns in stock returns
• Insider trading, which involves trading on material non-public information, is illegal and undermines market integrity
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the primary regulator of U.S. securities markets, responsible for protecting investors and maintaining fair, orderly, and efficient markets
• Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted in 2002 to improve corporate governance and financial reporting in response to high-profile accounting scandals
• Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed in 2010 to enhance financial stability and consumer protection in the wake of the global financial crisis

Risk Management in Financial Markets

• Market risk is the risk of losses due to changes in market prices, such as interest rates, exchange rates, and equity prices
• Credit risk is the risk that a borrower will default on their obligations, causing losses for the lender
• Operational risk arises from failures in internal processes, people, or systems, as well as external events
• Liquidity risk is the risk that an institution will be unable to meet its short-term financial obligations due to a lack of liquid assets or funding sources
• Value at Risk (VaR) is a statistical measure that quantifies the potential losses that an investment or portfolio may incur over a given time horizon and confidence level
• Stress testing involves subjecting financial institutions or portfolios to hypothetical adverse scenarios to assess their resilience and identify potential vulnerabilities
• Hedging is a risk management strategy that involves taking an offsetting position in a related security or derivative to reduce the impact of adverse price movements

Current Trends and Future Outlook

• Fintech (financial technology) is transforming the financial industry through innovations such as mobile banking, peer-to-peer lending, and robo-advisors
• Blockchain technology, which underlies cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, has the potential to revolutionize financial markets by enabling secure, decentralized transactions
• Sustainable finance and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing are gaining prominence as investors seek to align their financial goals with their values
• Open banking initiatives aim to increase competition and innovation in the financial sector by enabling secure sharing of customer data between banks and third-party providers
• Regtech (regulatory technology) is helping financial institutions to comply with increasingly complex regulations more efficiently and effectively through automation and artificial intelligence
• Cybersecurity is a growing concern for financial markets as the increasing digitization of financial services creates new vulnerabilities to cyber attacks and data breaches
• The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital financial services and highlighted the importance of resilience and adaptability in the face of unexpected shocks