Swaps

Consider a U.S. commercial bank that takes in one-year certificates of deposit (CDs) in its Hong Kong branch, denominated in Hong Kong dollars, to fund three-year, fixed-rate loans the bank is making in the U.S. denominated in U.S. dollars. Why would this bank wish to enter into a currency swap? The bank faces the risk that the Hong Kong dollar:

A) decreases in value against the U.S. dollar and the risk that interest rates increase in Hong Kong. B) decreases in value against the U.S. dollar and the risk that interest rates decrease in Hong Kong. C) increases in value against the U.S. dollar and the risk that interest rates increase in Hong Kong.

The bank’s home currency is the USD, so in the future they’ll need to convert USD to HKD to payoff the CDs. They’re worried that in the future it will cost them more USD for each HKD; i.e., that the HKD will appreciate vis-à-vis the USD.

Nice explanation.Thanks…

Thanks for the clarification, makes sense.

My pleasure.