Glosario

Un Window Forward es un producto financiero estructurado que ofrece la posibilidad de cambiar una cantidad determinada de divisas dentro de un rango de fechas específico -las “ventanas”- a un tipo de cambio más atractivo que el tipo forward estándar, a cambio de un precio mayor que el de un seguro de cambio.

La compleja naturaleza de los window forwards desaconseja su uso a tesoreros que solo busquen proteger a su empresa de la volatilidad del tipo de cambio. En este caso, existen alternativas mucho más seguras, como los seguros de cambio, o más eficientes, como el Dynamic Hedging.  

Así funcionaría un Window Forward en la práctica:

Un importador europeo importa bienes de Asia por valor de USD 100,000, que el proveedor enviará en un plazo de tres meses. No se sabe cuando el proveedor va a solicitar el pago, pero el importador no quiere arriesgarse a que el dólar se aprecie y aumente sus costes.

En este caso, si desea un tipo de cambio más conveniente que el que ofrece un seguro de cambio normal, la empresa puede contratar un Window Forward con una ventana desde dos semanas antes del envío de los productos hasta una semana después del mismo. De esta manera, el importador podrá cambiar los USD 100.000 en cualquier momento durante esas tres semanas.

The weighted average exchange rate, for an accumulated FX exposure is an average of the exchange rates used in the valuation of each portion of the exposure, weighted by its size. For example, a company with USD as its functional currency has an exposure of EUR 100 valued at the exchange rate of EUR-USD 1.30, and an additional exposure of EUR 200 valued at EUR-USD 1.00. The corresponding weighted-average exchange rate, also known as WAER, is 1.10 = (100 x 1.3 + 200 x 1.0) / 300. The WAER is calculated for each currency pair. It allows companies to track their overall exposure as new pieces of exposure are incorporated, each at a different exchange rate. FX automation allows firms to instantaneously calculate both the WAER and their exposure in any currency pair, which turns out to be especially useful for firms with numerous small-size FX-denominated transactions.

Wire transfers, also called bank transfers or credit transfers are the transfers of funds sent by one person or entity to another using computer-based technology and without human intervention.Wire transfers provide a fast and reliable way to send money around the world, either using traditional banks or other Fintech alternatives like TransferWise for individuals or Kantox for businesses.The main advantage of wire transfers is their immediacy. Wire transfers do not need the funds to be physically transferred from one bank to the other. There is only information the moves through a network such as SWIFT globally, or FedWire in the U.S, with the instructions defining the recipient’s identity, bank account (if applicable), amount, value date and the destination.The receiving bank or institution makes the payment to the beneficiary and both institutions settle the payment in the back end afterwards.Wire transfers are thus quick. Banking wires take one day on average while transfers with alternative services like Western Union or MoneyGram may take minutes.Businesses processing significant amounts of daily wire transfers can improve process efficiency by integrating accounts payable automation solutions.

WM Reuters benchmark rates are spot and forward currency rates in the main currency pairs announced each day at 4pm London time. Made by taking an average of the exchange rate in currency trades 30 seconds before and after 4pm in the London market, these benchmark rates can be used by companies to reduce search and trading costs. Currencies are quoted with the widely used three-letter codes for currencies worldwide: USD, EUR, CHF, GBP, TRY, BRL, etc. Another widely used set of daily foreign exchange rates that are used as benchmarks is the euro foreign exchange reference rates (also known as the ECB reference rates), published daily by the European Central Bank on its website at around 4pm CET.