ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management - 2010 - Study text

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Chapter 13: Interest rate risk. Hedging with FRAs and swaps

FRA rates

A bank trading in FRAs will publish indicative rates. For example, prices for sterling

FRAs might be quoted as follows:

3 v 6 5.27 – 5.23

4 v 7 5.32 – 5.28

5 v 8 5.39 – 5.34

9 v 12 5.63 – 5.56

3 v 9 5.40 – 5.36

4 v 10 5.45 – 5.41

6 v 12 5.50 – 5.45

A bank will always apply the rate that is more favourable to itself. For example, a

company wanting to fix the interest cost with a 6 v 12 FRA, using the rates in the

table above, would be quoted a rate of 5.50% for the FRA.

Notional loans and deposits

A forward exchange contract for currency is an agreement to buy and sell currency

at a future date, when there will be an exchange of currencies between the two

parties. An FRA is different. It is not an actual agreement to take out a loan or to

make a deposit. An FRA is an agreement on a notional loan or deposit, not an actual

loan or deposit. The size of the notional amount of principal (the notional loan or

deposit) is specified in the FRA agreement.

2.4 How an FRA works

An FRA works by comparing the fixed rate of interest in the FRA agreement with a

benchmark rate of interest, such as LIBOR. The comparison takes place at the

beginning of the notional interest period for the FRA.

 If the FRA rate is higher than the benchmark rate (LIBOR), the buyer of the FRA

must make a payment to the seller of the FRA, in settlement of the contract

 If the FRA rate is lower than the benchmark rate (LIBOR), the buyer of the FRA

receives a payment from the seller of the FRA, in settlement of the contract.

The amount of the payment is calculated from the difference between the FRA rate

and the benchmark rate (LIBOR rate), applied to the notional principal amount for

the FRA and calculated for the length of the interest period in the agreement.

Example

Suppose that a company knows that it will need to borrow £5 million in three

months’ time for a period of six months. (Alternatively, suppose that a company has

a floating rate loan of £5 million, with interest payable every six months, and the

next interest period due to start in three months’ time.)

The company can hedge its exposure to the risk of a rise in the six-month interest

rate by buying a 3 v 9 FRA for a notional principal amount of £5 million. If the

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bank’s FRA rates for 3 v 9 FRAs are 5.40 – 5.36, the rate applied to the agreement

will be 5.40%. The benchmark rate of interest, or ‘

reference rate’, will be the six-

month sterling LIBOR rate.

Settlement of the FRA

Suppose that at the end of month 3, six-month LIBOR is 6.25%. The FRA rate is

lower; therefore the FRA rate is settled by a payment from the bank to the buyer of

the FRA.

 The difference between the FRA rate and LIBOR is 0.85%. The payment to settle

the FRA will therefore be based on an interest difference of: 0.85% × £5 million ×

6/12 = £21,250.

 The actual payment will be less than this, because the FRA is settled

immediately, at the beginning of the notional interest period, and not at the end

of the period. The £21,250 is therefore discounted from an end-of-interest period

value to a start-of-interest period value, using the reference rate of interest as the

discount rate. This PV is the amount received in settlement of the FRA.

Suppose that at the end of month 3, six-month LIBOR is 4.75%. The FRA rate

(5.40%) is higher than the spot rate. Therefore the FRA rate is settled by a payment

from the buyer of the FRA to the bank. The difference between the FRA rate and

LIBOR is 0.65%.

 The payment to settle the FRA will therefore be based on this interest rate

difference: 0.65% × £5 million × 6/12 = £16,250.

 Again, because the payment is at the beginning of the interest period and not at

the end of the period, the £16,250 should be discounted to a present value at the

reference rate of interest. This PV is the amount of the payment in settlement of

the FRA.

How an FRA fixes a forward interest rate

Continuing the example, the company will presumably want to borrow £5 million

for six months from the end of month 3. It will do so by arranging an ordinary

short-term loan with a bank. The interest rate on the loan might be set at LIBOR +

1%.

 Suppose that at the end of month 3, six-month LIBOR is 6.25%. The company

will therefore borrow for six months at 7.25%. It will receive a payment from the

FRA of 0.85%, so that the net cost of borrowing will be 6.40% (7.25% – 0.85%).

This net effective interest rate is equal to the FRA rate of 5.40% + 1%. The

company has therefore been able to fix LIBOR at 5.40% with the FRA.

 Suppose that at the end of month 3, six-month LIBOR is 4.75%. The company

will therefore borrow for six months at 5.75%. However, it must also make a

payment of 0.65% to settle the FRA, bringing the total cost of borrowing for the

six months to 6.40% (5.75% + 0.65%). Again, this total effective rate is equal to

the FRA rate of 5.40% + 1% and the FRA has therefore fixed the effective LIBOR

rate at 5.40%.

Chapter 13: Interest rate risk. Hedging with FRAs and swaps

Conclusion: using an FRA to hedge an interest rate risk exposure

An FRA, like a forward exchange rate, therefore fixes an interest rate in advance.

 An FRA can therefore be used by a borrower to hedge an exposure to a future

increase in the spot interest rate, or to protect a depositor against a future fall in

the interest rate.

 However, the user of an FRA cannot benefit from any favourable movement in

the interest rate, because the FRA fixes the rate and is a binding contract.

Example

A company has forecast that due to an expected cash shortage, it will need to

borrow $20 million for three months in two months’ time. A bank quotes the

following rates for FRAs:

2 v 3 3.61

–

3.59

2 v 5 3.67

–

3.63

3 v 5 3.68

–

3.65

Required

What would be the FRA agreement with the bank, and what rate would apply to the

agreement?

If the company can borrow at LIBOR + 50 basis points, what will be its effective rate

of borrowing for the three months if US dollar LIBOR is 4.50% at the start of the

notional interest period for the FRA?

Answer

The company needs a 2v5 FRA.

It needs to borrow; therefore the bank will quote the higher rate, 3.67.

In three months’ time on the fixing data, if US dollar LIBOR is 4.50% the bank will

pay the equivalent of (4.50% - 3.67%) = 0.83%.

Three-month borrowing rate (4.50% + 50 basis points 5.00

Less: settlement received in FRA agreement (0.83)

Effective borrowing rate 4.17

The effective borrowing rate is the same as the FRA rate of 3.67% plus the 50 basis

points borrowing margin that the company is required to pay on the money it

borrows: 3.67% + 0.50% = 4.17%.

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Interest rate swaps

 The features of an interest rate swap

 Swap rates

 The effect of a coupon swap

3 Interest rate swaps

3.1 The features of an interest rate swap

An interest rate swap is an agreement between two parties, such as a company and

a bank that deals in swaps, for a period of time that is usually several years. Swaps

are therefore usually

long-term agreements on interest rates.

In a swap agreement, the parties agree to exchange ‘interest payments’ on a notional

amount of principal, at agreed dates throughout the term of the agreement.

The interest rate payments that are exchanged in a ‘coupon swap’ are as follows:

 One party to the swap pays a fixed rate (the swap rate).

 The other party pays interest at a reference rate or benchmark rate for the

interest period, such as LIBOR.

The purpose of an interest rate swap is often to:

 swap a variable rate of interest payment (or receipt) into a fixed interest rate

payment (or receipt)

 swap a fixed rate of interest payment (or receipt) into a variable rate of interest

payment (or receipt).

Example: ’plain-vanilla-swap’

For example, a company might arrange a four-year swap with a bank, for which the

notional principal amount is $20 million and:

 the company pays interest every six months at a fixed rate of, say, 4.25%

 the bank pays interest every six months at the six-month LIBOR rate for the

period.

Since both parties pay interest every six months, if the payment dates coincide, the

swap payments will simply be settled by a net payment for the difference in rates

from one party to the other.

Over the life of the four-year swap, there will therefore be eight exchanges of

interest payments. However, in an interest rate swap, there is no exchange of

principal. The interest relates to a notional amount of principal, not an actual asset

or liability.

Chapter 13: Interest rate risk. Hedging with FRAs and swaps

 If the six-month LIBOR rate for one of the periods is, say, 5.00%, the exchange of

payments would be settled by a payment from the bank to the company of

0.75% interest (5.00% – 4.25%) on $20 million for six months.

 If the six-month LIBOR rate for one of the periods is, say, 3.00%, the exchange of

payments would be settled by a payment from the company to the bank of

1.25% interest (4.25% - 3.00%) on $20 million for six months.

The payments in a plain vanilla swap are at the end of each notional interest period,

therefore the amounts payable are not discounted (unlike an FRA).

3.2 Swap rates

Swap rates are the fixed rates that will be used by a bank in a coupon swap

agreement. Swap rates might be quoted as follows:

US dollar

Term Bid Ask

Years % %

1 year 4.03 4.06

2 years 4.17 4.20

3 years 4.29 4.32

4 years 4.63 4.66

5 years 4.91 4.94

6 years 5.14 5.17

7 years 5.33 5.36

10 years 5.73 5.76

15 years 6.16 6.19

20 years 6.35 6.38

These rates might be for a swap against three-month US dollar LIBOR. The lower

rate (the bid rate) is the rate that the bank would pay in a swap. The higher rate (the

ask rate) is the fixed rate that the bank would receive in a swap. Banks dealing in

swaps make a profit or ‘turn’ from the difference between the bid and ask rates.

Swap rates for the major international currencies are quoted for terms of up to 30

years.

3.3 The effect of a coupon swap

In a coupon swap, one party pays a fixed rate of interest and the other pays ‘the

floating’, which is the variable reference rate of interest, such as six-month LIBOR.

For a company with a loan or bonds in issue, the effect of arranging a swap can

therefore be:

 to swap from fixed rate interest liabilities to floating rate liabilities, or

 to swap from floating rate liabilities to fixed rate liabilities.

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Example

A company has a bank loan of £10 million on which it pays variable rate interest at

LIBOR + 1%. The loan has five more years to maturity. The company is worried

about the risk that interest rates will soon rise, and it wants to set a limit on its

interest costs.

It might therefore arrange a five-year swap with a bank, with interest rates to

coincide with the interest payments on its bank loan.

The bank might quote rates of 5.34 – 5.39 for a five-year swap in sterling.

The company will receive the floating rate in the swap, to offset the floating rate

payments on its bank loan. It will pay the fixed rate, and the rate will therefore be

5.39%.

The swap therefore alters the net interest payments for the company as follows:

Loan payments (LIBOR + 1)

Swap

Receive the floating LIBOR

Pay the fixed

(5.39)

Net interest cost

(6.39)

The company had a floating rate liability of LIBOR + 1%, and has now changed this

into a net fixed interest liability of 6.39%.

On each interest payment date, the company will pay LIBOR + 1% in interest on its

bank loan, and under the swap agreement will receive or pay the difference

between LIBOR for the period and the fixed rate of 5.39%.

You might see that an interest rate coupon swap is similar in concept to an FRA, but

is for a longer period of time and covers more than one interest period.

The company might subsequently change its mind. For example, after two years, it

might decide that it wants a floating rate liability again. If so, it can go back to a

floating rate liability by arranging with the bank to cancel the swap and agreeing a

cancellation payment (for the value of the swap at the date of cancellation).

Example

A company has 5% bonds in issue with a nominal value of 40 million euros. The

bonds have ten more years to maturity. The company wants to exchange its fixed

rate liability for a floating rate liability in euros. A bank quotes the following rate for

a ten-year swap: 4.22 – 4.25.

By arranging a swap, what will be the effective interest cost for the company?

Chapter 13: Interest rate risk. Hedging with FRAs and swaps

Answer

Cost of the bonds (5.00)

Swap

Receive the fixed 4.22

Pay the floating (LIBOR)

Net interest cost

(LIBOR + 0.78)

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Using interest rate swaps

 Swapping interest rate liabilities

 Obtaining fixed rate liabilities

 Credit arbitrage

4 Using interest rate swaps

Interest rate swaps are used to manage interest rates on liabilities (and assets, in the

case of investment institutions and banks). They can therefore be a method of

hedging exposures to interest rate risk.

4.1 Swapping interest rate liabilities

Some large companies use interest rate swaps to manage their net interest liabilities

(in each currency). For example, a company that borrows extensively, through a

combination of bank loans and bond issues, might have a policy that:

 25% of its debts should be at a fixed rate

 25% of its debt should be at a floating rate, and

 the remaining 50% may be at a fixed or floating rate, or a mixture of fixed and

floating, depending on the judgement of the finance director or treasury

department.

The company might then use interest rate swaps to alter its net liabilities, within the

company’s policy guidelines, between fixed rate and floating rate. It might move

towards more floating rate liabilities if interest rates are expected to fall, and

towards fixed rate liabilities when interest rates are expected to rise.

The advantage of using swaps is that a company can alter its net liabilities from

fixed to floating rate or floating to fixed rate, without having to alter or re-negotiate

its actual loans or bond issues. For example, a company with fixed rate bonds can

swap from fixed to floating rate liabilities with a swap, without having to redeem

the bonds early and negotiate a floating rate loan with a bank.

4.2 Obtaining fixed rate liabilities

Many companies are unable to obtain fixed rate debt. Fixed rate interest liabilities

come from issuing bonds. Medium-term bank loans are invariably at a floating rate.

If a company is too small to issue bonds, or does not have the credit status to issue

bonds, it must borrow from banks to obtain debt finance.

If a company wants fixed rate liabilities, but can only borrow from a bank, it can

obtain a loan at a floating rate and swap into a fixed rate net liability.

Chapter 13: Interest rate risk. Hedging with FRAs and swaps

Example

A company borrows from its bank for five years at LIBOR plus 150 basis points. It

wants its interest rate liabilities to be fixed, so it makes a five-year swap transaction

with a bank, in which it pays a fixed rate of 5.8% and receives LIBOR.

As a result of the swap, the company’s net interest obligations are fixed at 7.3%.

Loan payments (LIBOR + 1.50)

Swap

Receive the floating LIBOR

Pay the fixed

(5.80)

Net interest cost

(7.30)

4.3 Credit arbitrage

At one time, swaps were sometimes used to obtain a lower interest rate on

borrowing. This was possible because swaps banks were able to identify

opportunities for ‘credit arbitrage’. These opportunities arose because of anomalies

in the rates of interest at which different companies could borrow.

When an opportunity for credit arbitrage exists, one of the following situations will

occur:

Situation 1

Two companies want to borrow. They can both borrow at either a fixed rate or a

floating rate. Company A has to pay a higher rate of interest than Company B.

However, the difference in borrowing costs between the two companies is less for

fixed rate borrowing than for variable rate borrowing.

For example:

Fixed rate

borrowing cost

Variable rate

borrowing cost

Company A 7.25%

LIBOR + 1.5%

Company B 6.50%

LIBOR + 0.5%

Difference 0.75%

1.0%

Credit arbitrage is possible using an interest rate swap if Company A wants to

borrow at a variable rate of interest and Company B wants to borrow at a fixed rate.

Situation 2

Two companies want to borrow. They can both borrow at either a fixed rate or a

floating rate. Company C has to pay a higher rate of interest than Company D.

However, the difference in borrowing costs between the two companies is more for

fixed rate borrowing than for variable rate borrowing.

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For example:

Fixed rate

borrowing cost

Variable rate

borrowing cost

Company C 7.75%

LIBOR + 1.5%

Company D 6.50%

LIBOR + 0.5%

Difference 1.25%

1.0%

Credit arbitrage is possible using an interest rate swap if Company C wants to

borrow at a fixed rate of interest and Company B wants to borrow at a variable rate.

Example

A bank is aware that two companies can borrow at the following rates:

Fixed Floating

Company A 5.50% LIBOR + 0.50%

Company B 6.40% LIBOR + 1%

Company A wants to borrow at a floating rate, and can do so at LIBOR + 0.50%.

Company B wants to borrow at a fixed rate, and can do so at 6.40%. However, an

opportunity for credit arbitrage exists, because company A can borrow at a fixed

rate 0.90% less than company B, but at a floating rate only 0.50% less than company

B. The opportunity for credit arbitrage totals 0.40% (0.90% - 0.50%).

A bank might therefore propose the following arrangement:

 Company A should borrow at a fixed rate, by issuing bonds at 5.50%. Company

B should borrow at a floating rate, by obtaining a bank loan at LIBOR + 1%.

 Company A should enter into a swap with the bank in which it receives 5.20%

fixed and pays LIBOR.

 Company B should enter into a swap with the bank in which it pays 5.25% fixed

and receives LIBOR.

The net interest cost of each company would be as follows:

Company A Company B

% %

Borrowing cost

(5.50)

(LIBOR + 1)

Swap

Receive 5.20

LIBOR

Pay (LIBOR)

(5.25)

Net cost (LIBOR + 0.30)

(6.25)

Company A reduces its net borrowing cost by 0.20% below the cost of borrowing

directly at a floating rate, and company B reduces its fixed rate cost by 0.15% below

the cost of issuing bonds at 6.40%. The bank makes a profit of 0.05% from the

difference between its fixed rates in the swap for receiving (5.25% from company B)

and paying (5.20% to company A).

ACCA P4 Advanced Financial Management - 2010 - Study text - Emile Woolf Publishing

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