Bloomsbury Publishing - Dictionary of Banking and Finance: Over 9,000 terms clearly defined

This dictionary provides a basic vocabulary of terms used in the fields of banking, investment, the Stock Exchange, and general finance. It covers both British and American usage.

The main words and phrases are defined in simple English, and many examples are given to show how the words may be used in context. In some cases, the definitions are expanded by explanatory comments. We also give quotations from newspapers and financial magazines from various parts of the world.

The supplements at the back of the book offer additional information.

At the same time, to make the dictionary more useful to students, we now give phonetic transcriptions for all the headwords.

The following symbols have been used to show the pronunciation of the main words in the dictionary.

Stress is indicated by a main stress mark () and a secondary stress mark (). Note that these are only guides, as the stress of the word changes according to its position in the sentence.

A /e/, AA /db()l e/, AAA /trp()l e/, noun letters that show how reliable a particular share, bond or company is considered to be These bonds have a AAA rating.

the rating concern lowered its rating to single-A from double-A, and its senior debt rating to triple-B from single-A [Wall Street Journal]

COMMENT: The AAA rating is given by Standard & Poors or by Moodys, and indicates a very high level of reliability for a corporate or municipal bond in the US

A1 /e wn/ adjectiveship which is A1 at Lloyds a ship which is in the best possible condition according to Lloyds Register

AADabbreviation Arab accounting dinar

ABAabbreviation American Bankers Association

abandonment /bndnmnt/ noun an act of giving up voluntarily something that you own, such as an option or the right to a property

abatement /betmnt/ noun an act of reducing a reduction in a payment, e.g., if a companys or individuals total assets are insufficient to cover their debts or legacies

ABA transit number /e bi e trnzt nmb/ noun a number allocated to an American financial institution, such as a bank (NOTE: The number appears on US cheques in the top right-hand corner, above the check routing symbol.)

abbreviated accounts /brivietd kants/ plural noun a shortened version of a companys annual accounts that a small or medium sized company can file with the Registrar of Companies, instead of a full version

ABIabbreviation Association of British Insurers

above par /bv p/ adjective referring to a share with a market price higher than its face value

above-the-line /bv lan/ adjective, adverb used to describe entries in a companys profit and loss accounts that appear above the line which separates entries showing the origin of the funds that have contributed to the profit or loss from those that relate to its distribution. Exceptional and extraordinary items appear above the line. Exceptional items are noted above the line in company accounts. below-the-line 2. relating to revenue items in a government budget

absolute /bslut/ adjective complete or total

absolute monopoly /bslut m npli/ noun a situation where only one producer produces or only one supplier supplies something The company has an absolute monopoly of imports of French wine. The suppliers absolute monopoly of the product meant that customers had to accept her terms.

absolute title /bslut tat()l/ noun a form of ownership of a piece of land in which the owners right is guaranteed by being registered with the Land Registry (NOTE: Absolute title also exists to leasehold land, giving the proprietor a guaranteed valid lease.)

absorb /bzb/ verb to take in a small item so that it forms part of a larger one overheads have absorbed all our profits all our profits have gone in paying overhead expenses to absorb a loss by a subsidiary to include a subsidiary companys loss in the group accounts a business which has been absorbed by a competitor a small business which has been made part of a larger one

absorption /bzpn/ noun the process of making a smaller business part of a larger one, so that the smaller company in effect no longer exists

absorption costing /bzpn kst/ noun a form of costing for a product that includes both the direct costs of production and the indirect overhead costs as well

absorption rate /bzpn ret/ noun a rate at which overhead costs are absorbed into each unit of production