Question

QUESTION 1
Justify the need for self-regulation in the securities industry of Ghana
QUESTION 2
Identify and explain five (5) money market instruments

Answer 1

Money market instruments are securities that provide businesses, banks, and the government with large amounts of low-cost capital for a short time. The period is overnight, a few days, weeks, or even months, but always less than a year. The financial markets meet longer-term cash needs.

Types of Money Market Instruments:

1. Treasury Bills (T-Bills)

Treasury bills or T- Bills are issued by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Central Government for raising money. They have short term maturities with highest upto one year. Currently, T- Bills are issued with 3 different maturity periods, which are, 91 days T-Bills, 182 days T- Bills, 1 year T – Bills.

T-Bills are issued at a discount to the face value. At maturity, the investor gets the face value amount. This difference between the initial value and face value is the return earned by the investor. They are the safest short term fixed income investments as they are backed by the Government of India.

2. Commercial Papers

Large companies and businesses issue promissory notes to raise capital to meet short term business needs, known as Commercial Papers (CPs). These firms have a high credit rating, owing to which commercial papers are unsecured, with company’s credibility acting as security for the financial instrument.

Corporates, primary dealers (PDs) and All-India Financial Institutions (FIs) can issue CPs.

CPs have a fixed maturity period ranging from 7 days to 270 days. However, investors can trade this instrument in the secondary market. They offer relatively higher returns compared to that from treasury bills.

3. Certificates of Deposits (CD)

CDs are financial assets that are issued by banks and financial institutions. They offer fixed interest rate on the invested amount. The primary difference between a CD and a Fixed Deposit is that of the value of principal amount that can be invested. The former is issued for large sums of money ( 1 lakh or in multiples of 1 lakh thereafter).

Because of the restriction on minimum investment amount, CDs are more popular amongst organizations than individuals who are looking to park their surplus for short term, and earn interest on the same.

The maturity period of Certificates of Deposits ranges from 7 days to 1 year, if issued by banks. Other financial institutions can issue a CD with maturity ranging from 1 year to 3 years.

4. Repurchase Agreements

Also known as repos or buybacks, Repurchase Agreements are a formal agreement between two parties, where one party sells a security to another, with the promise of buying it back at a later date from the buyer. It is also called a Sell-Buy transaction.

The seller buys the security at a predetermined time and amount which also includes the interest rate at which the buyer agreed to buy the security. The interest rate charged by the buyer for agreeing to buy the security is called Repo rate. Repos come-in handy when the seller needs funds for short-term, s/he can just sell the securities and get the funds to dispose. The buyer gets an opportunity to earn decent returns on the invested money.

5. Banker’s Acceptance

A financial instrument produced by an individual or a corporation, in the name of the bank is known as Banker’s Acceptance. It requires the issuer to pay the instrument holder a specified amount on a predetermined date, which ranges from 30 to 180 days, starting from the date of issue of the instrument. It is a secure financial instrument as the payment is guaranteed by a commercial bank.

Banker’s Acceptance is issued at a discounted price, and the actual price is paid to the holder at maturity. The difference between the two is the profit made by the investor.