CHAPTER

13

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Management of
Transaction Exposure
13.1
13.2
13.3
13.4
13.5
13.6

Forward Market Hedge

Money Market Hedge
Options Market Hedge
Cross-Hedging Minor Currency Exposure
Hedging Contingent Exposure
Hedging Recurrent Exposure with
Swap Contracts

13.7 Hedging through Invoice Currency

13.8 Hedging via Lead and Lag
13.9 Exposure Netting
13.10 Should the Firm Hedge?
13.11 What Risk Management Products Do
Firms Use?

AS DISCUSSED in Chapter 12, transaction exposure arises when a firm faces contractual cash flows that are fixed in a foreign currency. For example, suppose that CHC
Helicopters of St Johns, Newfoundland, a world leader in supply logistics to offshore
oil rigs, has billed British Petroleum (BP) for services provided to BPs sites on the
North Sea. CHCs invoice is for 1 million, due in three months.1 When CHC Helicopters receives 1 million three months from now, it will convert these British pounds
into Canadian dollars at the spot rate of exchange prevailing at that time. The future
spot rate cannot be known in advance. Consequently, in dollar terms, the value of the
settlement is uncertain. If the British pound appreciates (depreciates) against the Canadian dollar, the dollar receipt will be higher (lower). The uncertain end-result suggests
that if CHC Helicopter does nothing to address this uncertainty, it is effectively speculating on the future course of the exchange rate. It is as if CHC is willing to take a bet
that the British pound will appreciate against the Canadian dollar.
Consider another example. Say, Mitsubishi of Japan enters into a loan contract with
the Swiss bank UBS that calls for payment of SF100 million for principal and interest
in one year. To the extent that the yen/Swiss franc exchange rate is uncertain, Mitsubishi does not know how much yen will be required to buy SF100 million spot in one
years time. If the yen appreciates (depreciates) against the Swiss franc, a smaller
(larger) yen amount will be needed to retire the SF-denominated loan.
These examples suggest that whenever a firm has foreign-currency-denominated
receivables or payables, it is subject to transaction exposure, and the eventual settlements have the potential to affect the firms cash flow position. Since modern firms are
often involved in commercial and financial contracts denominated in foreign currencies, management of transaction exposure has become an important function of international financial management.
Unlike economic exposure, transaction exposure is well defined. Transaction exposure is simply the amount of foreign currency that is receivable or payable.

There may be some question as to why CHC Helicopters would invoice BP in pounds, rather than in Canadian
dollars. It is quite likely that the original contract was tendered by BP in a global competition that specified that
settlement would be in British pounds.

303

304

PA RT T H R E E

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EXPOSURE AND MANAGEMENT

This chapter focuses on alternative ways of hedging transaction exposure using various financial contracts and operational techniques:
Financial contracts:
Forward market hedge
Money market hedge
Option market hedge
Swap market hedge
Operational techniques:
Choice of the invoice currency
Lead/lag strategy
Exposure netting
As we proceed to describe and illustrate various ways to address transaction exposure,
it is useful to establish another specific business situation that gives rise to exposure.
Let us say that Bombardier of Montreal exports commuter aircraft to Austrian Airlines.
A payment of 10 million will be received by Bombardier in one year. Money market
and foreign exchange rates relevant to the financial contracts that we will examine are:
Canadian interest rate
European interest rate
Spot exchange rate
Forward exchange rate

6.10 % per annum

9.00 % per annum
$1.50/
$1.46/

Let us now look at the various techniques for managing Bombardiers transactions
exposure involving 10 million to be received one year from now.

13.1 Forward Market

www.gsm.uci.edul~jorion/
pachet/case.html
A case study by Prof. Philippe
Jorion presents the situation of
a company with transaction
exposure to the Deutsche
mark/dollar exchange rate.

Perhaps the most direct and popular way of hedging transaction exposure is by currency
forward contracts or forward market hedge. Generally speaking, the firm may sell (buy)
its foreign currency receivables (payables) forward to eliminate its exchange risk exposure. In the above example, in order to hedge foreign exchange exposure, Bombardier
may simply sell forward its euros receivable, 10 million for delivery in one year, in
exchange for a given amount of Canadian dollars. On the maturity date of the contract,
Bombardier will have to deliver 10 million to the bank, which is the counterparty of the
contract, and, in return, take delivery of C$14.6 million (C$1.46  10 million), regardless
of the spot exchange rate that may prevail on the maturity date. Bombardier will, of
course, use the 10 million that it is going to receive from Austrian Airways to fulfill the
forward contract. Since Bombardiers euro receivable is exactly offset by the euro payable
(created by the forward contract), the companys net euro exposure becomes zero.
Since Bombardier is assured of receiving a given dollar amount, $14.6 million, from
the counterparty of the forward contract, the dollar proceeds from this European sale
will not be affected at all by future changes in the exchange rate. This point is illustrated in Exhibit 13.1. Once Bombardier enters into the forward contract, exchange rate
uncertainty becomes irrelevant for Bombardier. Exhibit 13.1 also illustrates how the
dollar proceeds from the European sale will be affected by the future spot exchange
rate when exchange exposure is not hedged. The exhibit shows that the dollar proceeds
under the forward hedge will be higher than those under the unhedged position if the
future spot exchange rate turns out to be less than the forward rate, that is, F  $1.46/,
and the opposite will hold if the future spot rate becomes higher than the forward rate.
In the latter case, Bombardier forgoes an opportunity to benefit from a strong euro.
Suppose that on the maturity date of the forward contract, the spot rate turns out to be
$1.40/, which is less than the forward rate, $1.46/. In this case, Bombardier would
have received C$14.0 million, rather than C$14.6 million, had it not entered into the

CHAPTER 13

305

MANAGEMENT OF TRANSACTION EXPOSURE

EXHIBIT 13.1
Dollar Proceeds from
the European Sale:
Forward Hedge versus
Unhedged Position

Proceeds (C$)

Unhedged
position

C$14,600,000
Forward
hedge

0
F = C$1.46

ST

forward contract. Thus, one can say that Bombardier gained C$0.6 million from forward
hedging. Needless to say, Bombardier will not always gain in this manner. If the spot rate
is, say, C$1.50/ on the maturity date, then Bombardier could have received C$15.0 million by remaining unhedged. Thus, one can say ex post that forward hedging cost Bombardier $0.40 million.
The gains and losses from forward hedging can be illustrated as in Exhibits 13.2 and
13.3. The gain/loss is computed as follows:
Gain  (F  ST)  10 million

(13.1)

Obviously, the gain will be positive as long as the forward exchange rate is greater than
the spot rate on the maturity date, that is, F  ST , and the gain will be negative (that is,
a loss will result) if the opposite holds. As Exhibit 13.3 shows, the firm theoretically
can gain as much as C$14.6 million when the euro becomes worthless, which, of
course, is unlikely, whereas there is no limit to possible losses.
It is important, however, to note that the above analysis is ex post in nature and that
no one can know for sure what the future spot rate will be beforehand. The firm must
decide whether to hedge or not to hedge ex ante. To help the firm decide, it is useful to
consider the following three alternative scenarios:

1. S T F

2. S T < F

3. S T > F

where S T denotes the firms expected spot exchange rate for the maturity date.

Under the first scenario, where the firms expected future spot exchange rate, S T , is
about the same as the forward rate, F, the expected gains or losses are approximately
zero. But forward hedging eliminates exchange exposure. In other words, the firm can
eliminate foreign exchange exposure without sacrificing any expected Canadian dollar
proceeds from the foreign sale. Under this scenario, the firm would be inclined to
hedge as long as it is averse to risk. Note that this scenario becomes valid when the
forward exchange rate is an unbiased predictor of the future spot rate.2
2

As mentioned in Chapter 5, the forward exchange rate will be an unbiased predictor of the future spot rate if the
exchange market is informationally efficient and the risk premium is not significant. Empirical evidence indicates that the risk premium, if it exists, is generally not very significant. Unless the firm has private information
that is not reflected inthe forward rate, it would have no reason for disagreeing with the forward rate.

306

PA RT T H R E E

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EXPOSURE AND MANAGEMENT

EXHIBIT 13.2
Gains/Losses from
Forward Hedge

Receipts from the British Sale

Spot Exchange Rate
on the Maturity
Date (ST)

C$1.30
C$1.40
C$1.46a
C$1.50
C$1.60

Unhedged
Position

C$13,000,000
C$14,000,000
C$14,600,000
C$15,000,000
C$16,000,000

Forward
Hedge

Gains/Losses
from Hedgeb

C$14,600,000
C$14,600,000
C$14,600,000
C$14,600,000
C$14,600,000

C$1,600,000
C$ 600,000
0
C$ 400,000
C$1,400,000

The forward exchange rate (F) is C$1.46/

The gains/losses are computed as the proceeds under the forward hedge minus the proceeds from the
unhedged position at the various spot exchange rates on the maturity date.
b

EXHIBIT 13.3
Illustration of Gains
and Losses from
Forward Hedging

Gains/Losses (C$)

C$14,600,000

Gains
0

ST
Losses

Under the second scenario, where the firms expected future spot exchange rate is
less than the forward rate, the firm expects a positive gain from forward hedging. Since
the firm expects to increase the Canadian dollar proceeds while eliminating exchange
exposure, it would be even more inclined to hedge under this scenario than under the
first scenario. The second scenario, however, implies that the firms management dissents from the markets consensus forecast of the future spot exchange rate as reflected
in the forward rate.
Under the third scenario, on the other hand, where the firms expected future spot
exchange rate is more than the forward rate, the firm can eliminate exchange exposure
via the forward contract only at the cost of reduced expected Canadian dollar proceeds
from the foreign sale. Thus, Bombardier would be less inclined to hedge under this scenario, other things being equal. Despite lower expected Canadian dollar proceeds,
however, the firm may still end up hedging. Whether Bombardier actually hedges or
not depends on the degree of risk aversion; the more risk averse the firm is, the more
likely it is to hedge. From the perspective of a hedging firm, the reduction in the
expected Canadian dollar proceeds can be viewed implicitly as an insurance premium paid for avoiding the hazard of exchange risk.
Bombardier can use a currency futures contract, rather than a forward contract, to
hedge. However, a futures contract is not as suitable as a forward contract for the
purpose of hedging for two reasons. First, unlike forward contracts that are tailor made
to the firms specific needs, futures contracts are standardized instruments in terms of
contract size, delivery date, and so forth. In most cases, therefore, the firm can only

CHAPTER 13

307

MANAGEMENT OF TRANSACTION EXPOSURE

hedge approximately. Second, due to the marking-to-market property, there are interim
cash flows prior to the maturity date of the futures contract that may have to be
invested at uncertain interest rates. As a result, exact hedging again would be difficult.

13.2 Money Market Hedge

Transaction exposure can also be hedged by lending and borrowing in the domestic
and foreign money marketsthat is, money market hedge. Generally speaking, the
firm may borrow (lend) in foreign currency to hedge its foreign currency receivables
(payables), thereby matching its assets and liabilities in the same currency. Again using
the same example presented above, Bombardier can eliminate the exchange exposure
arising from the European sale by first borrowing in euros, then converting the loan
proceeds into Canadian dollars, which then can be invested at the dollar interest rate.
On the maturity date of the loan, Bombardier will use the euro receivable to pay off the
euro loan. If Bombardier borrows a particular euro amount so that the maturity value
of this loan becomes exactly equal to the euro receivable from the European sale, Bombardiers net euro exposure is reduced to zero, and Bombardier will receive the future
maturity value of the dollar investment.
The first important step in money market hedging is to determine the amount of
euros to borrow. Since the maturity value of borrowing should be the same as the euro
receivable, the amount to borrow can be computed as the discounted present value of
the euro receivable, that is, 10 million/(1.09)  9,174,312. When Bombardier borrows 9,174,312, it then has to repay 10 million in one year, which is equivalent to its
euro receivable. The step-by-step procedure of money market hedging can be illustrated as follows:
Step 1: Borrow 9,174,312 in Europe
Step 2: Convert 9,174,312 into $13,761,468 at the current spot exchange rate of
C$1.50/
Step 3: Invest C$13,761,468 in Canadian Treasury bills.
Step 4: Collect 10 million from Austrian Airways and use it to repay the euro loan.
Step 5: Receive the maturity value of the dollar investment, that is, C$14,600,918
 C$13,761,468(1.061), which is the guaranteed Canadian dollar proceeds from the European sale.
Exhibit 13.4 provides a cash flow analysis of money market hedging. The table
shows that the net cash flow is zero at the present time, implying that, apart from possible transaction costs, the money market hedge is fully self-financing. The table also
clearly shows how the 10 million euro receivable is exactly offset by the 10 million
euro payable (created by borrowing), leaving a net cash flow of C$14,600,918 on the
maturity date.3

EXHIBIT 13.4
Transaction

Cash Flow Analysis of

a Money Market Hedge

1. Borrow euros
2. Buy dollar spot
with euros
3. Invest in Canadian TBs
4. Collect euro receivable
Net cash flow

Current
Cash Flow

Cash Flow
at Maturity

9,174,312
C$13,761,468
 9,174,312
C$13,761,468
0

10,000,000

C$14,600,918
10,000,000
C$14,600,918

In the case where the firm has an account payable denominated in euro, the money market hedge calls for borrowing in Canadian dollars, buying euro spot, and investing at the euro interest rate.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
I N
P R A C T I C E

Managing Currency Exposure:

The Perspective of a Bank
Our extensive example of Bombardiers purchase of a
forward contract illustrates the arrangement from Bombardiers perspective. Bombardier starts the process by
contacting a bank. Once the forward contract is established, the bank has taken on the risk that Bombardier
had faced.
Banks, however, are not in the business of taking
large speculative positions on foreign currencies. The foreign exchange desk of a bank is there to serve its clients.
When a bank makes a forward foreign exchange commitment to a customer, the bank typically tries to quickly
neutralize the exposure that it has taken on. This note
illustrates how this is done. The setting is a Canadian
firm that purchases American dollars six months forward
from a Canadian bank.
All forward foreign currency transactions are done by
banks. More than 95 percent of all foreign currency
transactions are done within banks. Thus, banks are foreign exchange brokers to the industrial and commercial
world. The foreign exchange desks of banks are not in
the business of speculating, that is, taking exposed positions on foreign currencies.
A typical transaction that a bank might encounter in
dealing with a customer looks like this: Someone phones
the bank to enquire about buying one million American
dollars six months from now. Perhaps it is a Canadian
company retiring an American dollar denominated corporate bond.
The banks customer wants US$1,000,000 six
months forward.
Today, June 1, the six-month forward rate is 0.7500.
Of course, this is in American dollars per Canadian dollar.
The bank officer at the foreign exchange desk says,
O.K., one million December American dollars at 0.7500.
That will be 1,333,333 Canadian dollars. Done!
The customers problem is solved.
Now, the bank has a problem. The bank is short
of American dollars. The bank must provide
US$1,000,000 six months from now. The bank is
exposed.
How does the bank manage its risk?
Immediately, the bank will reverse its American dollar
forward position by an offsetting transaction in the spot

market. The bank will immediately buy US$1,000,000

spot.
Why wouldnt the bank make an offsetting transaction
in the forward marketthat is, why wouldnt it commit to
buy US$1,000,000 in December? That is a rhetorical
question. The bank would if it could. Imagine if the officer
at the foreign exchange desk had simultaneous calls from
two customers, one looking to buy US$1,000,000 in
December and one wanting to sell the same amount at
the same time. Of course, these two offsetting transactions would cancel each other out from the banks perspective, and the bank would simplyand profitably
capture the bid-ask spread. Pure brokerage.
However, things are seldom that simple. The bank
must manage its brokerage operations. That is the
banks skill.
The spot market is much more liquid and generally
presents substantially smaller spreads than the forward
market. So, the bank can more easily and more readily
sell American dollars in the spot market.
Now, let us say that the forward exchange rate
(expressed in American dollars per Canadian dollar) is
greater than the spot exchange rate.
spot:
forward:

0.7450
0.7500

Now, June
December

In the back of your mindbut not too far backyou

should be asking yourself what this forward premium
implies for (1) the expected future spot rate, and (2) the
United StatesCanada interest differential. The latter will
soon become important.
The bank pays C$1,342,282 for US$1,000,000. This
is a spot transaction.
After the offsetting transaction in the spot market
(establishing a long position in the American dollar to offset the short forward position), the remaining net exposure is to the United StatesCanada interest differential.
That is foreign interest rate exposure. The bank can swap
that risk away with a United StatesCanada interest rate
swap. The transactional cost of the United States
Canada interest rate swap is the cost of insurance for the
remaining bit of risk. The swap assures the bank of
receiving a flow of Canadian dollar interest despite the
fact that it holds American dollars on account.

The maturity value of the dollar investment from the money market hedge turns out
to be nearly identical to the dollar proceeds from forward hedging. This result is no
coincidence. Rather, this is due to the fact that the interest rate parity (IRP) condition
is approximately holding in our example. If the IRP is not holding, the dollar proceeds
308

CHAPTER 2

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SYSTEM

The banks three transactions can be illustrated with a

simple diagram:
Value of banks
position as a
function of the
spot rate

2. Bank buys
US dollars
spot

1. Bank sells
US dollars
forward

US/CDN

After Steps 1 and 2, that is, after the bank offsets its forward short position with a spot long, the remaining net
exposure is to the United StatesCanada interest differential for six months. The bank will swap that risk away
with a United StatesCanada interest rate swap.
In the diagram, the intersection of the two axes is the
spot rate. A little to the right is the forward rate. The
banks exposure due to the first transaction is represented by an upward sloping 45-degree line passing
through the forward rate. Why is the line sloping
upward? Well, if the exchange rate (expressed as
US$/C$) increases, it would take fewer Canadian dollars
to buy the requisite US$1,000,000. Unhedged, the
banks value (on the vertical axis) would increase if
US$/C$ increases, that is, if the Canadian dollar appreciates. The second (offsetting) transaction requires a downward sloping 45-degree line passing through the spot
rate. The third transaction, the swap, eliminates the

309

exposure associated with the gap between the spot and

forward rates.
Finally, there is another way that the bank could handle its exposure to the exchange rate risk that it incurs in
its function as a forward exchange broker.
The key point is that the bank must deliver
US$1,000,000 in December, for which it will receive
C$1,333,333. The C$1,333,333 is secure. The issue for
the bank is how to structure the future delivery of
US$1,000,000 while avoiding exchange rate risk.
Buying American dollars spot gets rid of most of the
foreign exchange risk. However, buying the full
US$1,000,000 may be overkill. The American-interest
flow on the securities that the bank purchases with those
funds leaves residual exchange rate risk associated with
the American-interest that accrues between now and
December.
Instead of buying US$1,000,000, the bank could purchase December American discount bonds in the
amount of US$1,000,000/(1+rUS /2) where rUS is the
yield on the discount bonds. In other words, the bank
purchases riskless securities today that retire in December with a liquidation value of US$1,000,000.
Say rUS equals 5 percent. Then, US$1,000,000 /
(1+rUS /2) equals US$975,610.
The purchase today of December American discount
bonds in the amount of US$975,610 will result in
US$1,000,000 in December.
In this way, the bank establishes its own money market hedge on its American-forward obligation.
What would determine whether the bank ought to
over-borrow the full US$1,000,000 and swap the
American-interest into Canadian dollars as opposed to
buying US$975,610 of December American discount
bonds? This type of decision generally turns on such considerations such as whether the bank has a substantial
swap book that would make it easy (and cheap) to swap
American interest into Canadian or whether the bank is
heavily involved in the American discount securities market, in which case it may have an operational advantage
in that market.
All in all, the difference between the two approaches
is likely to be small. The advantage of purchasing American discount bonds is that it is neater and it reduces the
banks capital commitment.
Keep in mind that the bank is essentially operating as
a broker in the forward market, and hence it ought to
take advantage of any internal administrative efficiencies
that it may have in managing its own risk.

from money market hedging will not be the same as those from forward hedging. As a
result, one hedging method will dominate another. In a competitive and efficient world
financial market, however, any deviations from IRP are not likely to persist.

309

310

PA RT T H R E E

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EXPOSURE AND MANAGEMENT

13.3 Options Market Hedge

One possible shortcoming of both forward and money market hedges is that these
methods completely eliminate exchange exposure. Consequently, the firm has to
forgo the opportunity to benefit from favourable exchange rate changes. To elaborate
on this point, let us assume that the spot exchange rate turns out to be C$1.60 per
euro on the maturity date of the forward contract. In this instance, forward hedging
would cost Bombardier C$1.4 million in terms of forgone dollar receipts (see Exhibit
13.2). If Bombardier had, indeed, entered into a forward contract, it would regret its
decision to do so. With its euro receivable, Bombardier ideally would like to protect
itself only if the euro weakens, while retaining the opportunity to benefit if the euro
strengthens. Currency options provide such a flexible optional hedge against
exchange exposure. Generally speaking, the firm may buy a foreign currency call
(put) option to hedge its foreign currency payables (receivables), which is known as
options market hedge.
To show how the options hedge works, suppose that in the over-the-counter market
Bombardier purchased a put option on 10 million euros with an exercise price of
C$1.46 and a one-year expiration. Assume that the option premium (price) was C$0.02
per euro. Bombardier thus paid C$200,000 ( C$0.02  10 million) for the option.
This transaction provides Bombardier with the right, but not the obligation, to sell up
to 10 million for C$l.46/, regardless of the future spot rate.
Now, assume that the spot exchange rate turns out to be C$1.30 on the expiration
date. Since Bombardier has the right to sell each euro for C$1.46, it will certainly exercise its put option on the euro and convert 10 million into C$14.6 million. The main
advantage of options hedging is that the firm can decide whether to exercise the option
based on the realized spot exchange rate on the expiration date. Recall that Bombardier
paid C$200,000 upfront for the option. Considering the time value of money, this
upfront cost is equivalent to C$212,200 ( C$200,000  1.061) as of the expiration
date. This means that under the options hedge, the net dollar proceeds from the European sale become C$14,387,800:
C$14,387,800  C$14,600,000  C$212,200
Since Bombardier is going to exercise its put option on the euro whenever the future
spot exchange rate falls below the exercise rate of C$1.46, it is assured of a minimum
dollar receipt of C$14,387,800 from the European sale.
Next, consider an alternative scenario where the euro appreciates against the Canadian dollar. Assume that the spot rate turns out to be C$1.60 per euro on the expiration
date. In this event, Bombardier would have no incentive to exercise the option. It will,
rather, let the option expire and convert 10 million into C$16 million at the spot rate.
Subtracting C$212,200 for the option cost, the net dollar proceeds will become
C$15,787,800 under the option hedge. As suggested by these scenarios, the options
hedge allows the firm to limit the downside risk while preserving the upside potential.
The firm, however, has to pay for this flexibility in terms of the option premium. There
rarely exist free lunches in finance! Note that neither the forward nor the money market hedge involves any upfront cost.
Exhibit 13.5 provides the net Canadian dollar proceeds from the European sale under
options hedging for a range of future spot exchange rates. The same results are illustrated in Exhibit 13.6. As Exhibit 13.6 shows, the options hedge sets a floor for the
Canadian dollar proceeds. The future Canadian dollar proceeds will be at least
C$14,387,800 under the option hedge. Bombardier, thus, can be said to have an insurance policy against the exchange risk hazard; the upfront option cost, C$200,000, Bombardier incurred can be regarded as an insurance premium. When a firm has an account
payable, rather than a receivable, in terms of a foreign currency, the firm can set a ceiling for the future dollar cost of buying the foreign currency amount by buying a call
option on the foreign currency amount.

CHAPTER 13

EXHIBIT 13.5
Dollar Proceeds from
Options Hedge

311

MANAGEMENT OF TRANSACTION EXPOSURE

Future Spot
Exchange Rate (ST)

Exercise
Decision

Gross Dollar
Proceeds

Option
Cost

C$1.30
C$1.40
C$1.46
C$1.50
C$1.60

Exercise
Exercise
Neutral
Not exercise
Not exercise

C$14,600,000
C$14,600,000
C$14,600,000
C$15,000,000
C$16,000,000

C$212,200
C$212,200
C$212,200
C$212,200
C$212,200

Net Dollar
Proceeds

C$14,387,800
C$14,387,800
C$14,387,800
C$14,787,800
C$15,787,800

Note: The exercise exchange rate (E) is C$1.46 in this example.

EXHIBIT 13.6
Dollar Proceeds from
the European Sale:
Option versus Forward
Hedge

Proceeds (C$)

Option
hedge

C$14,600,000

Forward
hedge

C$14,387,800

0
E = C$1.46

ST* = $1.48

ST

Exhibit 13.6 also compares the dollar proceeds from forward and options hedges.
As indicated in the exhibit, the options hedge dominates the forward hedge for future
spot rates greater than C$1.48 per euro, whereas the opposite holds for spot rates lower
than C$1.48 per euro. Bombardier will be indifferent between the two hedging methods at the break-even spot rate of C$1.48 per euro.
The break-even spot rate, which is useful for choosing a hedging method, can be
determined as follows:
C$(10,000,000)ST  C$212,200  C$14,600,000
By solving the equation for ST , we obtain the break-even spot rate, ST*  C$1.48. The
break-even analysis suggests that if the firms expected future spot rate is greater (less)
than the break-even rate, then the options (forward) hedge might be preferred.
Unlike the forward contract, which has only one forward rate for a given maturity,
there are multiple exercise exchange rates (prices) for the options contract. In the preceding discussion, we worked with an option with an exercise price of C$1.46. Considering that Bombardier has a euro receivable, it is tempting to think that it would be
a good idea for Bombardier to buy a put option with a higher exercise price, thereby
increasing the minimum dollar receipt from the European sale. But it becomes immediately clear that the firm has to pay for it in terms of a higher option premium. Again,
there is no free lunch. Choice of the exercise price for the options contract ultimately
depends on the extent to which the firm is willing to bear exchange risk. For instance,
if the firms objective is only to avoid very unfavourable exchange rate changes (that
is, a major depreciation of the euro in Bombardiers example), then it should consider
buying an out-of-money put option with a low exercise price, saving option costs. The
three alternative hedging strategies are summarized in Exhibit 13.7.

312

PA RT T H R E E

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EXPOSURE AND MANAGEMENT

EXHIBIT 13.7

Bombardiers Alternative Hedging Strategies: A Summary

Strategy

Transactions

Outcomes

Forward market hedge

1. Sell 10,000,000 forward for dollars now.

2. In one year, receive 10,000,000 rate
from the European client and deliver it to
the counterparty of the forward contract.

Assured of receiving C$14,600,000

in one year; future spot exchange
becomes irrelevant.

Money market hedge

1. Borrow 9,174,312 and buy

C$13,761,468 spot now.
2. In one year, collect 10,000,000
from the European client and pay off
the euro loan using the amount.

Assured of receiving C$13,761,468

now or C$14,600,918 in one year;
future spot exchange rate becomes
irrelevant.

Options market hedge

1. Buy a put option on 10,000,000

for an upfront cost of C$200,000.
2. In one year, decide whether to
exercise the option upon observing
the prevailing spot exchange rate.

Assured of receiving at least

C$14,387,800 or more if the future
spot exchange rate exceeds the
exercise exchange rate; Bombardier
controls the downside risk while
retaining the upside potential.

13.4 Cross-Hedging Minor Currency Exposure

If a firm has receivables or payables in major currencies, such as the euro, British
pound, or Japanese yen, it can easily use forward, money market, or options contracts
to manage its exchange risk exposure. In contrast, if the firm has positions in minor
currencies, such as the Korean won, Thai bhat, or Czech koruna, it may be either very
costly or impossible to use financial contracts in these currencies. This is because the
financial markets of the developing countries are relatively underdeveloped and often
highly regulated. Facing this situation, the firm may consider using cross-hedging
techniques to manage its minor currency exposure. Cross-hedging involves hedging a
position in one asset by taking a position in another asset.
Suppose a Canadian firm has an account receivable in Korean won and would like
to hedge its won position. If there were a well-functioning forward market in won, the
firm would simply sell the won receivable forward. But the firm finds it impossible to
do so. However, since the won/Canadian dollar exchange rate is highly correlated with
the yen/dollar exchange rate, the Canadian firm may sell a yen amount, which is equivalent to the won receivable, forward against the Canadian dollar thereby cross-hedging
its won exposure. Obviously, the effectiveness of this cross-hedging technique would
depend on the stability and strength of the won/yen correlation. A study by Aggarwal
and Demaskey (1997) indicates that Japanese yen derivative contracts are fairly effective in cross-hedging exposure to minor Asian currencies, such as the Indonesian
rupiah, Korean won, Philippine peso, and Thai bhat. Likewise, German mark derivatives can be effective in cross-hedging exposures in some Central and East European
currencies, such as the Czech koruna, Estonian kroon, and Hungarian forint.
Another study by Benet (1990) suggests that commodity futures contracts may be
used effectively to cross-hedge some minor currency exposures. Suppose the Canadian
dollar price of the Mexican peso is positively correlated to the world oil price. Note
that Mexico is a major exporter of oil, accounting for roughly 5 percent of the world
market share. Considering this situation, a firm may use oil futures contracts to manage its peso exposure. The firm can sell (buy) oil futures if it has peso receivables
(payables). In the same vein, soybean and coffee futures contracts may be used to
cross-hedge a Brazilian real exposure. Again, the effectiveness of this cross-hedging
technique would depend on the strength and stability of the relationship between the
exchange rate and the commodity futures prices.

CHAPTER 13

MANAGEMENT OF TRANSACTION EXPOSURE

313

13.5 Hedging Contingent Exposure

In addition to providing a flexible hedge against exchange exposure, options contracts
can also provide an effective hedge against what might be called contingent exposure.
Contingent exposure refers to a situation in which the firm may or may not be subject
to exchange exposure. Let us consider an example from the perspective of an American firm with Canadian dollar transaction exposure. Suppose General Electric (GE) is
bidding on a hydroelectric project in Quebec. If the bid is accepted, which will be
known in three months, GE is going to receive C$100 million to initiate the project.
Since GE may or may not face exchange exposure depending on whether its bid will
be accepted, it faces a typical contingent exposure situation.4
It is difficult to deal with contingent exposure using traditional hedging tools, such
as forward contracts. Suppose that GE sold C$100 million forward to hedge the contingent exposure. If GEs bid is accepted, then GE will have no problem because it will
have C$100 million to fulfill the forward contract. However, if the bid is rejected, GE
now faces an unhedged short position in Canadian dollars. Clearly, a forward contract
does not provide a satisfactory hedge against contingent exposure. A do-nothing policy does not guarantee a satisfactory outcome either. The problem with this policy is
that if GEs bid is accepted, the firm ends up with an unhedged long position in Canadian dollars.
An alternative approach is to buy a three-month put option on C$100 million. In this
case, there are four possible outcomes:
1. The bid is accepted, and the spot exchange rate turns out to be less than the
exercise rate: In this case, the firm will simply exercise the put option and convert C$100 million at the exercise rate.
2. The bid is accepted, and the spot exchange rate turns out to be greater than the
exercise rate: In this case, the firm will let the put option expire and convert
C$100 million at the spot rate.
3. The bid is rejected, and the spot exchange rate turns out to be less than the exercise rate: In this case, although the firm does not have Canadian dollars, it will
exercise the put option and make a profit.
4. The bid is rejected, and the spot rate turns out to be greater than the exercise
rate: In this case, the firm will simply let the put option expire.
The above scenarios indicate that when the put option is purchased, each outcome is
adequately covered; the firm will not be left with an unhedged foreign currency position. Again, it is stressed that the firm has to pay the option premium upfront. The preceding discussion is summarized in Exhibit 13.8.

13.6 Hedging Recurrent Exposure with Swap Contracts

Firms often have to deal with a sequence of accounts payable or receivable in terms
of a foreign currency. Such recurrent cash flows in a foreign currency can best be
hedged using a currency swap contract, which is an agreement to exchange one currency for another at a predetermined exchange rate, that is, the swap rate, on a
sequence of future dates. As such, a swap contract is like a portfolio of forward
4

These days, it is not unusual for the exporter to let the importer choose the currency of payment. For example,
in the Bombardier case, Bombardier may allow Austrian Airways to pay either C$15 million or 10 million. To
the extent that Bombardier does not know in advance which currency it is going to receive, it faces a contingent
exposure. Given the future spot exchange rate, Austrian Airways will choose to pay with a cheaper currency. It
is noteworthy that in this example, Bombardier provides Austrian Airways with a free option to buy up to C$15
million using euros (which is equivalent to an option to sell euros for dollars) at the implicit exercise rate of
C$1.50/.

314

PA RT T H R E E

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EXPOSURE AND MANAGEMENT

EXHIBIT 13.8
Contingent Exposure
Management: The
Case of GE Bidding
for a Quebec Hydroelectric Project

Bid Outcome
Alternative Strategies

Bid Accepted

Bid Rejected

Do nothing

An unhedged long position

in C$100 million

No exposure

Sell C$ forward

No exposure

An unhedged short position

in C$100 million

Buy put option on C$a

If the future spot rate becomes less than the exercise rate,
(ST  E)
Convert C$100 million
at the exercise price

Exercise the option and

and make a profit

If the future spot rate becomes

greater than the exercise rate,
(ST  E)
Let the option expire
and convert C$100
million at the spot
exchange rate

Simply let the

option expire

If the future spot rate turns out to be equal to the exercise price, that is, ST  E, GE will be indifferent between (i)
exercising the option and (ii) letting the option expire and converting C$100 million at the spot rate.

contracts with different maturities. Swaps are very flexible in terms of amount and
maturity; the maturity can range from a few months to 20 years.
Suppose that Bombardier is scheduled to deliver an aircraft to Austrian Airways at the
beginning of each year for the next five years, starting in 2004. Austrian Airways, in turn,
is scheduled to pay 10,000,000 to Bombardier on December 1 of each year for five
years, starting in 2004. In this case, Bombardier faces a sequence of exchange risk exposures. As previously mentioned, Bombardier can hedge this type of exposure using a
swap agreement by which Bombardier delivers 10,000,000 to the counterparty of the
contract on December 1 of each year for five years and takes delivery of a predetermined
dollar amount each year. If the agreed swap exchange rate is $1.50/, then Bombardier
will receive $15 million each year, regardless of the future spot and forward rates. Note
that a sequence of five forward contracts would not be priced at a uniform rate, $1.50/;
the forward rates will be different for different maturities. In addition, longer-term forward contracts are not readily available.

13.7 Hedging through Invoice Currency

While such financial hedging instruments as forward, money market, swap, and
options contracts are well known, hedging through invoice currencyan operational
techniquehas not received much attention. The firm can shift, share, or diversify
exchange risk by appropriately choosing the currency of invoice. For instance, if Bombardier invoices C$15 million, rather than 10 million for the sale of the aircraft, then
it does not face exchange exposure anymore. Note, however, that the exchange exposure has not disappeared; it has merely shifted to the European importer. Austrian Airways now has an account payable denominated in Canadian dollars.
Instead of shifting the exchange exposure entirely to Austrian Airways, Bombardier
can share the exposure with Austrian Airways by, for example, invoicing half of the bill
in Canadian dollars and the remaining half in euros, that is, C$7.5 million and 5 million. In this case, the magnitude of Bombardiers exchange exposure is reduced by half.
As a practical matter, however, the firm may not be able to use risk shifting or sharing

CHAPTER 13

MANAGEMENT OF TRANSACTION EXPOSURE

315

as much as it wishes to for fear of losing sales to competitors. Only an exporter with
substantial market power can use this approach. In addition, if the currencies of both
the exporter and the importer are not suitable for settling international trade, neither
party can resort to risk shifting/sharing to deal with exchange exposure.
The firm can diversify exchange exposure to some extent by using currency basket
units, such as the SDR, as the invoice currency. Often, multinational corporations and
sovereign entities are known to float bonds denominated either in the SDR or in the
ECU prior to the introduction of the euro. For example, the Egyptian government
charges for the use of the Suez Canal using the SDR. Obviously, these currency baskets
are used to reduce exchange exposure. As previously noted, the SDR now comprises
four individual currencies, the American dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen, and the
British pound. Because the SDR is a portfolio of currencies, its value should be substantially more stable than the value of any individual constituent currency. Currency
basket units can be a useful hedging tool, especially for long-term exposure for which
no forward or options contracts are readily available. The International Finance in Practice box on page 316 The LCBO and Foreign Exchange Risk Management shows
how companies deal with exchange risk exposure using various operational techniques.

13.8 Hedging via Lead and Lag

Another operational technique the firm can use to reduce transaction exposure is leading and lagging foreign currency receipts and payments. To lead means to pay or collect early, and to lag means to pay or collect late. The firm would like to lead soft
currency receivables and lag hard currency receivables to avoid the loss from depreciation of the soft currency and benefit from the appreciation of the hard currency. For
the same reason, the firm will attempt to lead the hard currency payables and lag soft
currency payables.
To the extent that the firm can effectively implement the lead/lag strategy, the
transaction exposure the firm faces can be reduced. However, a word of caution is in
order. Suppose, concerned with the likely depreciation of the euro, Bombardier would
like Austrian Airways to prepay 10 million. Bombardiers attempt to lead the euro
receivable may encounter difficulties. First of all, Austrian Airways would like to lag
this payment, which is denominated in the soft currency (the euro), and thus has no
incentive to prepay unless Bombardier offers a substantial discount to compensate for
the prepayment. This, of course, reduces the benefits of collecting the euro receivable
early. Second, pressing Austrian Airways for prepayment can hamper future sales
efforts by Bombardier. Third, to the extent that the original invoice price, 10 million,
incorporates the expected depreciation of the euro, Bombardier is already partially protected against the depreciation of the euro.
The lead/lag strategy can be employed more effectively to deal with intrafirm
payables and receivables, such as material costs, rents, royalties, interests, and dividends, among subsidiaries of the same multinational corporation. Since managements
of various subsidiaries of the same firm are presumably working for the good of the
entire firm, the lead/lag strategy can be applied more aggressively.

13.9 Exposure Netting

In 1984, Lufthansa, a German airline, signed a contract to buy US$3 billion worth of
aircraft from Bombardier and entered into a forward contract to purchase US$1.5 billion forward for the purpose of hedging against the expected appreciation of the dollar
against the German mark. This decision, however, suffered from a major flaw: A significant portion of Lufthansas cash flows was also American dollar-denominated. As
a result, Lufthansas net exposure to the exchange risk might not have been significant.
Lufthansa had a so-called natural hedge. In 1985, the American dollar depreciated

Country

1870

1913

1929

LongTerm

1950

United States
2.5
3.7
3.6
3.0
INTERNATIONAL
Canada
12.0
12.2 FINANCE
15.8
13.0
7.4
12.8
11.2
9.1
I NAustralia
P R12.0
A C
T 13.3
I C 11.4
E
United Kingdom
17.7

1973

2001

5.0
19.9
11.2
14.0

7.2
41.1
17.6
19.0

The LCBO and Foreign

Exchange Risk Management
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) is the single
largest importer of wines, spirits, and beer in the world.
In 2003, the LCBO imported liquor worth more than
C$800 million. These imports come from many sources.
Wines come from Australia, Chile, France, Italy, the
United States, and several other warm countries. Ireland,
Sweden, and the United Kingdom are important
providers of spirits. Jamaica sends us strong rum.
The LCBOs foreign exchange exposure creates a complex risk management problem. When the Canadian dollar rises or falls, it does not move to the same degree
against all currencies. The LCBO is exposed to risk from
a variety of foreign exchange movements.
The LCBO has devised a method to simplify its currency dealings with foreign suppliers of wines and spirits.
First, the LCBO makes known to agents that the LCBO
deals only in a small number of foreign currenciesprimarily the American dollar and the Euro. For suppliers
from the United States or Europe, this is not an issue. On
the other hand, agents for Chilean wine or Swedish
vodka must quote prices to the LCBO either in American
dollars or eurosor perhaps Canadian dollars. This
pushes foreign exchange transactional exposure
(between, say, the Swedish krone and the Canadian dollar) on to suppliers of wines and spirits from countries
other than the United States or Europe. This is a policy
that only a very large importer could sustain.

The second feature of the LCBOs exchange risk management takes the form of announced exchange rates
for purchases of imported wines and spirits. Again, this
arrangement is workable because the LCBO is an important customer for its suppliers. The LCBO announces
exchange rates that it will apply in processing invoices in
foreign currencies over the subsequent quarter. For
example, in July 2004, the LCBO announced that it will
process all Euro-denominated invoices received in
August, September, and October at C$1.65/. The
LCBO orders a shipment of wine from a French supplier
at an invoice price of, say, 100,000 specified at the
time of the order. The supplier accepts the LCBOs offer
exchange rate scheme. Compared with what the French
supplier would receive in euro if he were to take payment
in Canadian dollars on the spot market at the time of
delivery, under the LCBO offer exchange rate scheme, a
change in the exchange rate between the time of the
order and the time of delivery results in a foreign
exchange gain (recorded in euro) for the exporter if the
Canadian dollar appreciates against the euro or a foreign
loss if the Canadian dollar depreciates.
Finally, during each three-month span of its
announced rates the LCBO protects itself with forward
contracts and foreign exchange options. The policy is to
hedge approximately 50 percent of the exposure.

substantially against the mark and, as a result, Lufthansa experienced a major foreign
exchange loss from settling the forward contract. This episode shows that when a firm
has both receivables and payables in a given foreign currency, it should consider hedging only its net exposure.
So far, we have discussed exposure management on a currency-by-currency basis.
In reality, a typical multinational corporation is likely to have a portfolio of currency
positions. For instance, a Canadian firm may have an account payable in euros and, at
the same time, an account receivable in Swiss francs. Considering that the euro and
Swiss franc move against the dollar almost in lockstep, the firm can just wait until
these accounts become due and then buy euros spot with Swiss francs. It can be wasteful and unnecessary to buy euros forward and sell Swiss francs forward. In other
words, if the firm has a portfolio of currency positions, it makes sense to hedge residual exposurem, rather than hedge each currency position separately.
If the firm would like to apply exposure netting aggressively, it helps to centralize
the firms exchange exposure management function in one location. Many multinational corporations are using a reinvoice centre, a financial subsidiary, as a mechanism
for centralizing exposure management functions. All the invoices arising from
intrafirm transactions are sent to the reinvoice centre, where exposure is netted. Once
the residual exposure is determined, then foreign exchange experts at the centre determine optimal hedging methods and implement them.
316

CHAPTER 13

13.10

MANAGEMENT OF TRANSACTION EXPOSURE

317

Should the Firm Hedge?

We have discussed how the firm can hedge exchange exposure if it wishes. We have
not discussed whether the firm should try to hedge to begin with. As can be seen from
the International Finance in Practice box on page 318, To Hedge or Not to Hedge,
there hardly exists a consensus on whether the firm should hedge. Some would argue
that exchange exposure management at the corporate level is redundant when shareholders can manage the exposure themselves. Others would argue that what matters in
the firm valuation is only systematic risk; corporate risk management may only reduce
the total risk. These arguments suggest that corporate exposure management would not
necessarily add to the value of the firm.
While the above arguments against corporate risk management may be valid in a perfect capital market, one can make a case for it based on various market imperfections:
1. Information asymmetry: Management knows about the firms exposure position
much better than shareholders. Thus, the management of the firm, not its shareholders, should manage exchange exposure.
2. Differential transaction costs: The firm is in a position to acquire low-cost
hedges; transaction costs for individual shareholders can be substantial. Also,
the firm has hedging tools like the reinvoice centre that are not available to
shareholders.
3. Default costs: If default costs are significant, corporate hedging would be justifiable because it will reduce the probability of default. Perception of a reduced
default risk, in turn, can lead to a better credit rating and lower financing costs.
4. Progressive corporate taxes: Under progressive corporate tax rates, stable beforetax earnings lead to lower corporate taxes than volatile earnings with the same
average value. This happens because under progressive tax rates, the firm pays
more taxes in high-earning periods than it saves in low-earning periods.
The last point merits elaboration. Suppose the countrys corporate income tax system is such that a tax rate of 20 percent applies to the first C$10 million of corporate
earnings and a 40-percent rate applies to any earnings exceeding C$10 million. Firms
thus face a simple progressive tax structure. Now consider an exporting firm that
expects to earn C$15 million if the dollar depreciates, but only C$5 million if the dollar appreciates. Let us assume that the dollar may appreciate or depreciate with equal
chances. In this case, the firms expected tax will be C$2.5 million:
Expected tax  12[(0.20)(C$5,000,000)]  12[(0.20)(C$10,000,000)
 (0.40)(C$5,000,000)]
 C$2,500,000
Now, consider another firm, B, that is identical to firm A in every respect except
that, unlike firm A, firm B aggressively and successfully hedges its risk exposure and,
as a result, it can expect to realize certain earnings of C$10,000,000, the same as firm
As expected earnings. Firm B, however, expects to pay only C$2 million as taxes.
Obviously, hedging results in a C$500,000 tax saving. Exhibit 13.9 illustrates this situation.
While not every firm is hedging exchange exposure, many firms are engaged in
hedging activities, suggesting that corporate risk management is relevant to maximizing the firms value. To the extent that for various reasons, shareholders themselves
cannot properly manage exchange risk, the firms managers can do it for them, contributing to the firms value. Some corporate hedging activities, however, might be
motivated by managerial objectives; managers may want to stabilize cash flows so that
the risk to their human capital can be reduced.

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE
I N
P R A C T I C E

To Hedge or Not to Hedge

Most value-maximising firms do not hedge. Thus Merton Miller and Christopher Culp, two economists at the
University of Chicago, said in a recent article1 about Metallgesellschaft, a firm that saw its value plunge after its
oil-price hedging strategy came a cropper. Yet the vast
majority of firms that use derivatives do so to hedge. Last
years survey of big American non-financial companies by
the Wharton School and Chase Manhattan bank found
that, of those firms that used derivatives (about one-third
of the sample), some 75% said they did so to hedge commitments. As many as 40% of the derivatives users said
they sometimes took a view on the direction of markets,
but only 8% admitted to doing so frequently.
To justify speculation, managers ought to have good
reason to suppose that they can consistently outwit firms
for which playing the financial markets is a core business.
Commodity businesses, such as oil or grain companies
taking positions on the direction of their related commodity markets, may have such reason, but non-financial
firms taking bets on interest rates or foreign-exchange
rates almost certainly do notthough some claim to
make a profit on it. But why might hedging be wrong?
In the 1950s, Merton Miller and Franco Modigliani,
another financial economist, demonstrated that firms
make money only if they make good investmentsthe
kind that increase their operating cash flows. Whether
those investments are financed through debt, equity or
retained earnings is irrelevant. Different methods of
financing simply determine how a firms value is divided
between its various sorts of investors (e.g., shareholders
or bondholders), not the value itself. This surprising
insight helped win each of them a Nobel prize. If they are
right, it has crucial implications for hedging. For if methods of financing and the character of financial risks do
not matter, managing them is pointless. It cannot add to
the firms value; on the contrary, as derivatives do not
come free, using them for hedging might actually lower
that value. Moreover, as Messrs Miller and Modigliani

showed, if investors want to avoid the financial risks

attached to holding shares in a firm, they can diversify
their portfolio of holdings. Firms need not manage their
financial risks; investors can do it for themselves.
In recent years, other academics have challenged the
Miller-Modigliani thesisat least in its pure formand
demonstrated that hedging can sometimes add value.
That is because firms may be able to manage certain
risks internally in ways that cannot be replicated by outside investors. Some investors may not want, or be able,
to hold diversified share portfolios (for instance, if the
firm is family-owned). It may be possible to use derivatives to reduce profits in good years and raise them in
bad years in order to cut the firms average tax bill.
Hedging can also be used to prevent the firm getting into
financial difficulties, or even going bust.
Recently, another view has been winning converts.
According to Kenneth Froot, David Sharfstein and
Jeremy Stein, three Boston-based economists, firms
should hedge to ensure they always have sufficient cash
flow to fund their planned investment programme.2 Otherwise some potentially profitable investments may be
missed because of inefficiencies in the bond and equity
markets that prevent the firm raising the funds, or the
reluctance of managers to tap these markets when internal cash is tight. Merck, an American pharmaceuticals
firm, has helped to pioneer the use of derivatives to
ensure that investment plansparticularly in R&Dcan
always be financed. In a paper explaining the firms strategy, Judy Lewent and John Kearney observed that our
experience, and that of the [drugs] industry in general,
has been that cash-flow and earnings uncertainty caused
by exchange-rate volatility leads to a reduction in
research spending.3
Though apparently simple, such a strategy has some
intriguing implications. As Messrs Froot, Scharfstein and
Stein point out, the factors that cause cash flow to fall
below expectations may also cut the number of

A study by Allayannis and Weston (2001) provides direct evidence on the important
issue of whether hedging actually adds to the value of the firm. Specifically, they examine whether firms with currency exposure that use foreign currency derivative contracts, such as currency forward and options, increase their valuation. The authors find
that American firms that face currency risk and use currency derivatives for hedging
have, on average, about 5 percent higher value than firms that do not use currency
derivatives. For firms that have no direct foreign involvement but may be exposed to
exchange rate movements via export/import competition, they find a small hedging
valuation premium. In addition, they find that firms that stop hedging experience a
decrease in firm valuation compared with those firms that continue to hedge. Their
study thus clearly suggests that corporate hedging contributes to firm value.
318

CHAPTER 2

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY SYSTEM

profitable investment opportunities, so lessening the

need to hedge. For instance, an oil companys cash flow
may suffer due to a fall in oil prices. However, that fall in
prices also reduces the value of investing in developing
new oil fields. With fewer profitable projects to invest in,
the firm will need less cash to finance investment.

All about Cash Flow

Rene Stulz, an economist at Ohio State University, sees
even more powerful implications.4 He says that there are
only a couple of good reasons why a firm should hedge.
One is to cut its tax bills, which is likely to happen only if
the firms profits tend to yo-yo between lower and higher
tax bands. The other one is being unable to get cash
when it needs it, or facing a serious risk of running short.
By this rule, reckons Mr. Stulz, a firm with little debt or
with highly-rated debt has no need to hedge, as the risk
of it getting into financial trouble is tiny. If he is right,
many of Americas biggest hedgersincluding some of
those that have revealed losses on derivatives, such as
Procter & Gamblemay be wasting their energies, or
worse. By contrast, Mr. Stulz thinks that if a firm is highly
geared, hedging can boost its value significantly. Indeed,
during the leveraged buy-out craze of the 1980s, when
firms were taken over by buying off shareholders and
loading up on debt, tough risk-management requirements were standard in any borrowing arrangement.
Messrs. Culp and Miller, of the University of Chicago,
take this argument a step further in defending the management of Metallgesellschaft from some of the wilder
accusations of recklessness (a matter that is now before
the American courts). Instead of analysing the firms
hedging strategy (which involved selling oil for up to ten
years ahead and hedging this exposure with futures contracts) in terms of its effectiveness in reducing risk,
Messrs. Culp and Miller argue that the company had no
need to reduce its risk-exposure because it had no reason to suppose it could not get hold of cash if needed.
After all, the mighty Deutsche Bank, as its principal creditor and controlling shareholder, was behind the firm,

13.11

319

ensuring that it could not go bust; and, as it turned out,

it did not. Rather, the aim of the hedging strategy was to
exploit what Metallgesellschaft thought was its superior
understanding of the relationship between spot prices
and futures pricesrisky but not obviously foolish.
Not everyone agrees that firms with little debt should
not hedge. Myron Scholes, an economist at Stanford University, reaches the opposite conclusion: firms with little
debt could reduce their riskiness by hedging, and so be
able to borrow more and rely less on equity. Equity can be
expensive compared with debt; it is inherently riskier,
offering no guaranteed payout, so investors require a
higher average return on it than they do on bonds. Ultimately, through risk-reducing hedging and borrowing,
more firms might be able to remain (or become) privately
owned, reckons Mr. Scholes. But to do this well, managers
will need a very good understanding of the risks to which
their firm is exposed, and of opportunities to hedge.
However, the way firms typically use derivatives to
reduce the cost of capital is different from that described
above. Rather than hedge and borrow more, they substitute for traditional debt a hybrid of bonds and options
and/or futures that will pay off in certain circumstances,
thus lowering capital costs. This is speculation dressed up
as prudence, because if events take an unexpected turn,
capital costs go up by at least the cost of the options.

Hedging in the Theory of Corporate Finance: A Reply to Our Critics.

By Christopher Culp and Merton Miller. Journal of Applied Corporate
Finance; Spring 1995.

2
A Framework for Risk Management. By Kenneth Froot, David
Scharfstein and Jeremy Stein. Harvard Business Review; November
1994.
3
Identifying, Measuring and Hedging Currency Risk at Merck. By
Judy Lewent and John Kearney. In The New Corporate Finance,
edited by Donald Chew, McGraw-Hill; 1993.
4

Rethinking Risk Management By Rene Stulz. Ohio State University

working paper; 1995.
Source: The Economist, February 10, 1996, pp. PS1012. 1996
The Economist Newspaper Group, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

What Risk Management Products Do Firms Use?

In a recent survey, Jesswein, Kwok, and Folks (1995) documented the extent of knowledge and use of foreign exchange risk management products by American corporations. On the basis of a survey of Fortune 500 firms, they found that the traditional
forward contract is the most popular product. As Exhibit 13.10 shows, about 93 percent
of respondents of the survey used forward contracts. This old, traditional instrument
has not been supplanted by recent fancy innovations. The next commonly used
instruments are foreign currency swaps (52.6 percent) and over-the-counter currency
options (48.8 percent). Such recent innovations as compound options (3.8 percent) and
lookback options (5.1 percent) are among the least extensively used instruments. These
319

320

PA RT T H R E E

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EXPOSURE AND MANAGEMENT

EXHIBIT 13.9
Tax
schedule
Expected corporate taxes (C$)

Tax Savings from

Hedging Exchange
Risk Exposure

2.5 m

2m

0
5m

EXHIBIT 13.10
A Survey of Knowledge
and Use of Foreign
Exchange Risk
Management Productsa

Type of Product

Forward contracts
Foreign currency swaps
Foreign currency futures
Exchange-traded currency options
Exchange-traded futures options
Over-the-counter currency options
Cylinder options
Synthetic forwards
Synthetic options
Participating forwards, etc.
Forward exchange agreements, etc.
Foreign currency warrants
Break forwards, etc.
Compound options
Lookback options, etc.
Average across products

10 m

15 m

Heard of
(Awareness)

100.0%
98.8
98.8
96.4
95.8
93.5
91.2
88.0
88.0
83.6
81.7
77.7
65.3
55.8
52.1
84.4%

Earnings before
taxes (C$)

Used
(Adoption)

93.1%
52.6
20.1
17.3
8.9
48.8
28.7
22.0
18.6
15.8
14.8
4.2
4.9
3.8
5.1
23.9%

a
The products are ranked by the percentages of respondents who have heard of products. There are 173
respondents in total.
Source: Kurt Jesswein, Chuck Kwok, and William Folks, Jr., Corporate Use of Innovative Foreign Exchange Risk
Management Products, Columbia Journal of World Business (Fall 1995).

findings seem to indicate that most American firms meet their exchange risk management needs with forward, swap, and options contracts.
The Jesswein, Kwok, and Folks survey also shows that among the various industries, the finance/insurance/real estate industry stands out as the most frequent user of
exchange risk management products. This finding is not surprising. This industry has
more finance experts who are skillful at using derivative securities. In addition, this
industry handles mainly financial assets, which tend to be exposed to exchange risk.
The survey further shows that the corporate use of foreign exchange risk management
products is positively related to the firms degree of international involvement. This
finding is not surprising either. As the firm becomes more internationalized through
cross-border trade and investments, it is likely to handle an increasing amount of foreign currencies, giving rise to a greater demand for exchange risk hedging.

CHAPTER 13

SUMMARY

KEY WORDS

QUESTIONS

321

MANAGEMENT OF TRANSACTION EXPOSURE

1. The firm is subject to a transaction exposure when it faces contractual cash flows
denominated in foreign currencies. Transaction exposure can be hedged by financial contracts, such as forward, money market, and options contracts, as well as by
such operational techniques as the choice of invoice currency, lead/lag strategy,
and exposure netting.
2. If the firm has a foreign-currency-denominated receivable (payable), it can hedge
the exposure by selling (buying) the foreign currency receivable (payable) forward. The firm can expect to eliminate the exposure without incurring costs as
long as the forward exchange rate is an unbiased predictor of the future spot rate.
The firm can achieve equivalent hedging results by lending and borrowing in the
domestic and foreign money markets.
3. Unlike forward and money market hedges, currency options provide flexible
hedges against exchange exposure. With the options hedge, the firm can limit the
downside risk while preserving the upside potential. Currency options also provide
the firm with an effective hedge against contingent exposure.
4. The firm can shift, share, and diversify exchange exposure by appropriately choosing the invoice currency. Currency basket units, such as the SDR and ECU, can be
used as an invoice currency to partially hedge long-term exposure for which financial hedges are not readily available.
5. The firm can reduce transaction exposure by leading and lagging foreign currency
receipts and payments, especially among its own affiliates.
6. When a firm has a portfolio of foreign currency positions, it makes sense only to
hedge the residual exposure, rather than hedging each currency position separately.
The reinvoice centre can help implement the portfolio approach to exposure management.
7. In a perfect capital market where shareholders can hedge exchange exposure as
well as the firm, it is difficult to justify exposure management at the corporate
level. In reality, capital markets are far from perfect, and the firm often has advantages over the shareholders in implementing hedging strategies. There, thus, exists
room for corporate exposure management to contribute to the firm value.
contingent exposure, 313
cross-hedging, 312
exposure netting, 316
forward market
hedge, 304

hedging through invoice

currency, 314
lead/lag strategy, 315
money market
hedge, 307

options market
hedge, 310
reinvoice centre, 316
transaction
exposure, 303

1. How would you define transaction exposure? How is it different from economic
exposure?
2. Discuss and compare hedging transaction exposure using the forward contract versus money market instruments. When do alternative hedging approaches produce
the same result?
3. Discuss and compare the costs of hedging by forward contracts and options
contracts.
4. What are the advantages of a currency options contract as a hedging tool compared
with the forward contract?
5. Suppose your company has purchased a put option on the euro to manage
exchange exposure associated with an account receivable denominated in that currency. In this case, your company can be said to have an insurance policy on its
receivable. Explain in what sense this is so.

www.mcgrawhill.ca/college/eun

322

PA RT T H R E E

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EXPOSURE AND MANAGEMENT

6. Recent surveys of corporate exchange risk management practices indicate that

many American firms simply do not hedge. How would you explain this result?
7. Should a firm hedge? Why, or why not?
8. Using an example, discuss the possible effect of hedging on a firms tax obligations.
9. Explain contingent exposure and discuss the advantages of using currency options
to manage this type of currency exposure.
10. Explain cross-hedging and discuss the factors determining its effectiveness.

PROBLEMS
1.

2.

3.

4.

The spreadsheet TRNSEXP.xls may be used in solving parts of problems 2, 3, 4,

and 6.
Celestica of Toronto sold an advanced computer system to the Max Planck Institute in Germany on credit and invoiced 10 million payable in six months. Currently, the six-month forward exchange rate is C$1.50/ and the foreign exchange
adviser for Cray Research predicts that the spot rate is likely to be C$1.42/ in six
months.
a. What is the expected gain/loss from a forward hedge?
b. If you were the financial manager of Celestica, would you recommend hedging
this euro receivable? Why, or why not?
c. Suppose the foreign exchange adviser predicts that the future spot rate will be
the same as the forward exchange rate quoted today. Would you recommend
hedging in this case? Why, or why not?
RIM of Waterloo purchased computer chips from NEC, a Japanese electronics
concern, and was billed 250 million payable in three months. Currently, the spot
exchange rate is 105/C$, and the three-month forward rate is 100/C$. The threemonth money market interest rate is 8 percent per annum in Canada and 7 percent
per annum in Japan. The management of RIM decided to use a money market
hedge to deal with this yen account payable.
a. Explain the process of a money market hedge and compute the Canadian dollar
cost of meeting the yen obligation.
b. Conduct a cash flow analysis of the money market hedge.
You plan to visit Geneva, Switzerland, in three months to attend an international
business conference. You expect to incur a total cost of SF5,000 for lodging,
meals, and transportation during your stay. As of today, the spot exchange rate is
C$1.10/SF and the three-month forward rate is C$1.13/SF. You can buy the threemonth call option on SF with an exercise price of C$1.14/SF for the premium of
C$0.05 per SF. Assume that your expected future spot exchange rate is the same as
the forward rate. The three-month interest rate is 6 percent per annum in Canada
and 4 percent per annum in Switzerland.
a. Calculate your expected dollar cost of buying SF5,000 if you choose to hedge
by a call option on SF.
b. Calculate the future dollar cost of meeting this SF obligation if you decide to
hedge using a forward contract.
c. At what future spot exchange rate will you be indifferent between the forward
and option market hedges?
d. Illustrate the future dollar cost of meeting the SF payable against the future spot
exchange rate under both the options and forward market hedges.
Bombardier just signed a contract to sell aircraft to Air France. Air France will be
billed 20 million payable in one year. The current spot exchange rate is C$1.05/

www.mcgrawhill.ca/college/eun

CHAPTER 13

MANAGEMENT OF TRANSACTION EXPOSURE

323

and the one-year forward rate is C$1.10/. The annual interest rate is 6 percent in
Canada and 5 percent in France. Bombardier is concerned with the volatile
exchange rate between the dollar and the euro and would like to hedge exchange
exposure.
a. It is considering two hedging alternatives: sell the euro proceeds from the sale
forward or borrow euros from Crdit Lyonnaise against the euro receivable.
Which alternative would you recommend? Why?
b. Other things being equal, at what forward exchange rate would Bombardier be
indifferent between the two hedging methods?
5. Suppose that Kitchener Machinery sold a drilling machine to a Swiss firm and
gave the Swiss client a choice of paying either C$10,000 or SF9,000 in three
months.
a. In the example, Kitchener Machinery effectively gave the Swiss client a free
option to buy up to C$10,000 using Swiss francs. What is the implied exercise exchange rate?
b. If the spot exchange rate turns out to be C$1.08/SF, which currency do you
think the Swiss client will choose to use for payment? What is the value of this
free option for the Swiss client?
c. What is the best way for Kitchener Machinery to deal with exchange exposure?
6. The Bay of Fundy Cruise Company (BofC) purchased a ship from Mitsubishi
Heavy Industry for 500 million yen payable in one year. The current spot rate is
100/C$, and the one-year forward rate is 110/C$. The annual interest rate is 5
percent in Japan and 8 percent in Canada. BofC can also buy a one-year call option
on yen at the strike price of C$0.01 per yen for a premium of 0.014 cents per yen.
a. Compute the future dollar costs of meeting this obligation using the money
market and forward hedges.
b. Assuming that the forward exchange rate is the best predictor of the future spot
rate, compute the expected future dollar cost of meeting this obligation when
the option hedge is used.
c. At what future spot rate do you think BofC may be indifferent between the
option and forward hedge?
7. Airbus sold an A400 aircraft to Air Canada and billed C$30 million payable in six
months. Airbus is concerned about the euro proceeds from international sales and
would like to control exchange risk. The current spot exchange rate is C$1.50/,
and the six-month forward exchange rate is C$1.575/. Airbus can buy a sixmonth put option on Canadian dollars with a strike price of 1.45/C$ for a premium of 0.02 per Canadian dollar. Currently, six-month interest, rate is 5 percent
in the euro zone and 6 percent in Canada.
a. Compute the guaranteed euro proceeds to Air Canada if Airbus decides to
hedge using a forward contract.
b. If Airbus decides to hedge using money market instruments, what action does
Airbus need to take? What would be the guaranteed euro proceeds from the sale
in this case?
c. If Airbus decides to hedge using put options on Canadian dollars, what would
be the expected euro proceeds from the sale? Assume that Airbus regards the
current forward exchange rate as an unbiased predictor of the future spot
exchange rate.
d. At what future spot exchange do you think Airbus will be indifferent between
the option and money market hedge?

www.mcgrawhill.ca/college/eun

324

PA RT T H R E E

FOREIGN EXCHANGE EXPOSURE AND MANAGEMENT

INTERNET
EXERCISE

BankWare, an Ottawa-based company specializing in banking-related softwares,

exported its software for automatic teller machines (ATM) to Oslo Commerce Bank,
which is trying to modernize its operation. Facing competition from European software
vendors, BankWare decided to bill the sales in the clients currency, Norwegian krone
500,000, payable in one year. Since there are no active forward currency markets for
the Norwegian currency, BankWare is considering selling a euro or British pound
amount forward for cross-hedging purpose. Assess the hedging effectiveness of selling
the euro versus pound amount forward to cover the companys exposure to the Norwegian currency. In solving this problem, consult exchange rate data available from the
following website: www.pacific.commerce.ubc.ca/xr/

REFERENCES &
SUGGESTED
READINGS

Aggarwal, R., and A. Demaskey. Cross-Hedging Currency Risks in Asian Emerging Markets Using
Derivatives in Major Currencies. Journal of Portfolio Management (Spring 1997), pp. 8895.
Allayannis, George, and James Weston. The Use of Foreign Currency Derivatives and Firm Market
Value. Review of Financial Studies 14 (2001), pp. 24376.
Aubey, R., and R. Cramer. Use of International Currency Cocktails in the Reduction of Exchange
Rate Risk. Journal of Economics and Business (Winter 1977), pp. 12834.
Benet, B. Commodity Futures Cross-Hedging of Foreign Exchange Exposure. Journal of Futures
Markets (Fall 1990), pp. 287306.
Beidelman, Carl, John Hillary, and James Greenleaf. Alternatives in Hedging Long-Date Contractual Foreign Exchange Exposure. Sloan Management Review (Summer 1983), pp. 4554.
Dufey, Gunter, and S. Srinivasulu. The Case for Corporate Management of Foreign Exchange Risk.
Financial Management (Winter 1983), pp. 5462.
Folks, William. Decision Analysis for Exchange Risk Management. Financial Management (Winter 1972), pp. 10112.
Giddy, Ian. The Foreign Exchange Option as a Hedging Tool. Midland Corporate Finance Journal
(Fall 1983), pp. 3242.
Jesswein, Kurt, Chuck C. Y. Kwok, and William Folks, Jr. Corporate Use of Innovative Foreign
Exchange Risk Management Products. Columbia Journal of World Business (Fall 1995),
pp. 7082.
Khoury, Sarkis, and K. H. Chan. Hedging Foreign Exchange Risk: Selecting the Optimal Tool.
Midland Corporate Finance Journal (Winter 1988), pp. 4052.
Smithson, Charles. A LEGO Approach to Financial Engineering: An Introduction to Forwards,
Futures, Swaps and Options. Midland Corporate Finance Journal (Winter 1987), pp. 1628.
Stulz, Rene, and Clifford Smith. The Determinants of Firms Hedging Policies. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis (December 1985), pp. 391405.

www.mcgrawhill.ca/college/eun