Mastering Investment Banking Securities
A Practical Guide to Structures, Products, Pricing and Calculations
Securities are the fundamental tools and products of investment banking. They
can be broadly categorized into debt - including banknotes, bonds and debentures, equity
and derivative financial instruments that range from options and swaps to very complex and
risky trading strategies. It is a multi-billion dollar business based on sophisticated
financial models and pricing techniques.
Mastering Investment Banking Securitiesis a comprehensive guide to these
trading instruments, their trading practices, pricing techniques and associated risks. It
includes:
- An introduction to investment bank structures, divisions and their roles
- All commonly traded money market and capital market instruments
- The most popular interest rate, equity, commodity and credit- linked financial
instruments
- A wide range of derivative securities
- Details of pricing and valuation tools and the key pricing techniques
- The fundamentals of credit risk and market risk
- A glossary of key terms
Table of Contents
Foreword
The aim of the book
Introduction
PART I - STRUCTURES
1. Investment Bank Divisions
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
Capital markets (CM)
Securitisation
Sales and trading
2. Investment Bank Organisational Structure
Front office
Middle office
Back office
PART II – MONEY MARKETS AND CAPITAL MARKETS INSTRUMENTS
3. Money Market Products
Time value of money
Nominal and effective rates
Cashflow analysis
Overview of money market products
Money market calculations
4. Capital Markets Instruments
Overview of capital markets instruments
Bond pricing fundamentals
Other bond markets
PART III – FINANCIAL DERIVATIVES
5. Speculative Financial Instruments - Derivatives
Overview of derivatives markets
Users of derivatives
Interest rate derivatives
Equity derivatives
Commodity derivatives
Credit derivatives
6. Financial Futures and Forward Rate Agreements (FRAs)
Financial futures
Forward rate agreements (FRAs)
Futures vs. FRAs
7. Swaps
Basic swap concepts and applications
Types of swaps
Swap pricing fundamentals
Pricing currency swaps
Equity swap valuation
8. Foreign Exchange
Spot exchange rates
Direct and cross-rates
Forward exchange rates
9. Options
Motivation behind option trading
Option contract specifications
Types of option contracts
Option contract risks and benefits
Ideas behind option pricing
Put-call parity
Option value sensitivities – ‘option Greeks’
Option pricing: practical implementation
10. Bond and Equity Derivatives
Introduction to bond derivatives
Background on equity markets
11. Commodity and Credit Derivatives
Background on commodity derivatives
Introduction to credit derivatives
12. OTC Derivatives and Hybrid Securities
OTC derivatives
Hybrid securities
PART IV – PRICING AND VALUATION TOOLS
13. Probability and Statistics
Definition of probability
The main concepts of probability
The concept of probability distribution
Types of probability distribution
Binomial distribution
Normal distribution
Log-normal distribution
Other probability distributions
Binomial trees
14. Yield Curves
Choice of financial instruments for yield curve construction
Yield curve construction methodology
The three-month yield curve construction
Bootstrapping the swap strip
Interpolation methods
The one-month curve construction
The basis curve construction
Shape of the yield curve
15. Quantitative Analytics
Role of quantitative analytics
Classification of pricing models
Numerical methods
Analytical methods
16. Summary of Pricing Formulae
Time value of money
Money markets calculations
Capital markets instruments
Financial futures
Forward rate agreements (FRAs)
Interest rate swaps
Foreign exchange
Option characteristics
Option pricing
Bond derivatives
Equity derivatives
Probability and statistics
Yield curves
PART V – RISK MANAGEMENT
17. Credit Risk on Derivatives
Counterparty risk
Product risk
Credit risk of specific financial instruments
Credit ratings
Credit risk management
Credit risk management best practice guidelines
18. Market Risk on Derivatives
Balance sheet vs. off-balance sheet instruments
Market risk on specific financial instruments
Market risk management
Market risk management best practice guidelines
Value at risk (VAR)
Appendix 1 - Glossary
Appendix 2 - Option Strategies
Appendix 3 – ISO (SWIFT) Currency Codes
Bibliography
Index
328 pages, Paperback