英文版本
Market deregulation, growth in global trade, and continuing technological developments have revolutionized the financial marketplace during the past two decades. A by-product of this revolution is increased market volatility, which has led to a corresponding increase in demand for risk management products. This demand is reflected in the growth of financial derivatives from the standardized futures and options products of the 1970s to the wide spectrum of over-the-counter (OTC) products offered and sold in the 1990s.
Many products and instruments are often described as derivatives by the financial press and market participants. In this guidance, financial derivatives are broadly defined as instruments that primarily derive their value from the performance of underlying interest or foreign exchange rates, equity, or commodity prices.
Financial derivatives come in many shapes and forms, including futures, forwards, swaps, options, structured debt obligations and deposits, and various combinations thereof. Some are traded on organized exchanges, whereas others are privately negotiated transactions. Derivatives have become an integral part of the financial markets because they can serve several economic functions. Derivatives can be used to reduce business risks, expand product offerings to customers, trade for profit, manage capital and funding costs, and alter the risk-reward profile of a particular item or an entire balance sheet.
Although derivatives are legitimate and valuable tools for banks, like all financial instruments they contain risks that must be managed. Managing these risks should not be considered unique or singular. Rather, doing so should be integrated into the bank's overall risk management structure. Risks associated with derivatives are not new or exotic. They are basically the same as those faced in traditional activities (e.g., price, interest rate, liquidity, credit risk).