• C++ Programming for Financial Engineering
    Highly recommended by thousands of MFE students. Covers essential C++ topics with applications to financial engineering. Learn more Join!
    Python for Finance with Intro to Data Science
    Gain practical understanding of Python to read, understand, and write professional Python code for your first day on the job. Learn more Join!
    An Intuition-Based Options Primer for FE
    Ideal for entry level positions interviews and graduate studies, specializing in options trading arbitrage and options valuation models. Learn more Join!

how do banks manage fx cash balance on the trading desk level

  • Thread starter Thread starter ORD
  • Start date Start date

ORD

Joined
11/2/19
Messages
4
Points
11
Hi , i cant find any litrature on this issue of identifying the cash balance on a bank trading desks. .
Banks hold nostro accounts for fx transactions with correspondent banks , each major currency will have a nostro account , so the bank knows at any given time the account balance by managing a mirror account . these nostro accounts are managed at bank level.
my question is , how do banks or treasury manage the fx balance on a level of the different trading desks ? do they manage a sub ledger account four each desk / curency ?
 
Banks maintain a constant watch on all net FX balances. They are generally divided into "hedge" and "do not hedge" categories. The "hedge"sums are managed by the bank treasury department at the aggregate level. The "do not hedge" accounts reflect actual risk taking (i.e., the bank would not want to automatically hedge an EUR position taken by an FX trader. As you might well imagine, this can be operationally complex and baks ave been known occasionally to lose millions on unhedged amounts that were supposed to be flattened.
 
Back
Top