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BONDSTATS REFERENCE LIBRARY

Financial Market Acronym Library

A searchable reference for the abbreviations used across bonds, banking, central banks, payments, clearing, settlement, risk and financial infrastructure.

100 dedicated pages36 categoriesORIGINAL BondStats explanations
DAY COUNT

ACT/360

A day-count convention using actual elapsed days and a 360-day denominator.

DAY COUNT

ACT/365

A day-count convention using actual elapsed days and a 365-day denominator.

SECURITIZATION

ABS

A security backed by a pool of financial assets such as loans or receivables.

BANKING

ALM

Management of balance-sheet exposures arising from the timing and behavior of assets and liabilities.

FIXED INCOME

ASW

A spread measure that compares a bond with the interest-rate swap curve through an asset-swap structure.

BANKING

AT1

A regulatory capital category designed to absorb losses while a bank remains a going concern.

INVESTMENT

AUM

The market value of assets managed for clients or investment vehicles.

INSTITUTIONS

BIS

An international organization serving central banks and supporting monetary and financial cooperation.

MARKET MATH

BPS

A rate unit where one basis point equals 0.01 percentage point.

SOVEREIGN DEBT

CAC

A bond provision allowing a specified majority of holders to agree to restructuring terms binding on all covered holders.

MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE

CCP

An entity that interposes itself between counterparties to cleared transactions and manages resulting counterparty risk.

MONEY MARKETS

CD

A deposit instrument issued by a bank with specified maturity and interest terms.

CREDIT

CDS

A derivative transferring specified credit risk from protection buyer to protection seller.

BANKING

CET1

The highest-quality core regulatory capital category under the Basel framework.

SECURITIZATION

CLO

A structured vehicle backed primarily by a portfolio of leveraged loans.

FX INFRASTRUCTURE

CLS

A financial market infrastructure that mitigates principal risk in settlement of eligible FX transactions.

MONEY MARKETS

CP

Short-term unsecured debt commonly issued by corporations and financial institutions.

MACRO

CPI

An index measuring changes in prices paid by consumers for a defined basket of goods and services.

INSTITUTIONS

CPMI

A BIS committee focused on payment, clearing, settlement and related market-infrastructure issues.

MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE

CSD

Infrastructure that records securities and supports their safekeeping and settlement.

DERIVATIVES

CVA

An adjustment to derivative valuation reflecting counterparty credit risk.

BANKING

D-SIB

A bank designated as systemically important within a domestic financial system.

BANKING

DGS

An arrangement designed to protect eligible deposits up to applicable limits if a member bank fails.

INFRASTRUCTURE

DLT

Technology for maintaining synchronized records across multiple participating nodes.

SETTLEMENT

DvP

A settlement mechanism linking securities delivery to corresponding payment so one occurs if and only if the other does.

FIXED INCOME

DV01

A measure of approximate value change for a one-basis-point move in yield or rate.

CREDIT RISK

EAD

The modeled or measured exposure outstanding when a borrower defaults.

INSTITUTIONS

EBA

An EU authority contributing to banking regulation, supervision convergence and risk assessment.

CENTRAL BANKS

ECB

The central bank for the euro area and a core institution of the Eurosystem.

MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE

ECMS

The Eurosystem platform used for managing assets mobilized as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations.

CENTRAL BANKING

ELA

Exceptional central-bank liquidity support generally provided to solvent institutions facing temporary liquidity problems under applicable frameworks.

RISK

ES

A tail-risk measure estimating average loss beyond a selected VaR threshold.

INSTITUTIONS

ESMA

An EU authority focused on securities markets, investor protection and supervisory convergence.

MONEY MARKETS

€STR

The ECB-administered overnight rate reflecting euro unsecured wholesale borrowing costs of euro-area banks under its methodology.

INVESTMENT

ETF

An investment fund whose shares trade on an exchange.

BANKING

EVE

A balance-sheet measure used in interest-rate risk analysis to assess changes in the economic value of equity.

INFRASTRUCTURE

FMI

A system or arrangement supporting payments, clearing, settlement, recording or related financial-market functions.

CENTRAL BANKS

FOMC

The Federal Reserve committee responsible for US monetary policy decisions including the target range for the federal funds rate.

FIXED INCOME

FRN

A debt security whose coupon resets periodically using a reference rate plus or minus a spread.

MARKETS

FX

The market and processes for exchanging one currency for another.

BANKING

G-SIB

A bank identified internationally as systemically important under the relevant assessment framework.

MACRO

GDP

A measure of the value of final goods and services produced within an economy over a period.

BANKING

HQLA

Assets recognized under liquidity regulation as readily monetizable under stress, subject to applicable eligibility and haircut rules.

SECURITY

HSM

Specialized hardware designed to protect cryptographic keys and perform sensitive cryptographic operations.

RATES

IBOR

A generic term for interbank offered-rate benchmarks historically used across lending and derivatives markets.

CLEARING

IM

Collateral collected to cover potential future exposure over a defined close-out period.

INSTITUTIONS

IMF

An international institution supporting monetary cooperation, macroeconomic surveillance and financial assistance to members.

VALUATION

IRR

The discount rate that sets the net present value of a specified cash-flow stream to zero.

BANKING

IRRBB

Interest-rate risk arising from banking-book positions and their repricing, basis and option characteristics.

DERIVATIVES

ISDA

An industry association known for standard documentation and work on derivatives market practices.

IDENTIFIERS

ISIN

A standardized identifier for securities.

BANKING

LCR

A regulatory liquidity ratio comparing high-quality liquid assets with modeled net cash outflows over 30 days.

IDENTIFIERS

LEI

A standardized identifier for legal entities participating in financial transactions.

CREDIT RISK

LGD

The share of exposure expected to be lost if default occurs, after recoveries.

CREDIT RISK

LTV

A ratio comparing a loan balance with the value of the asset securing it.

SECURITIZATION

MBS

A security backed by cash flows from a pool of mortgage loans.

RESOLUTION

MREL

An EU resolution requirement intended to ensure banks maintain sufficient loss-absorbing and recapitalization capacity.

INVESTMENT

NAV

The value of a fund's assets minus liabilities, typically expressed in total or per-share terms.

FX

NDF

A cash-settled FX forward commonly used where physical delivery of a currency is restricted or impractical.

BANKING

NIM

Net interest income relative to a defined base of interest-earning assets.

SECURITY REGULATION

NIS2

An EU cybersecurity directive expanding risk-management and incident-reporting obligations across covered sectors and entities.

VALUATION

NPV

The present value of future cash flows minus the initial investment or cost.

BANKING

NSFR

A regulatory ratio comparing available stable funding with required stable funding over a longer horizon.

FIXED INCOME

OAS

A modeled spread measure that adjusts for the value and behavior of embedded options.

RATES

OIS

An interest-rate swap exchanging a fixed rate against a leg linked to a compounded overnight reference rate.

MARKETS

OTC

Trading conducted bilaterally or through dealer networks rather than on a centralized exchange order book.

CREDIT RISK

PD

The estimated likelihood that an obligor defaults over a specified horizon.

INFRASTRUCTURE

PFMI

International principles issued by CPMI and IOSCO for systemically important payment systems, CSDs, securities settlement systems, CCPs and trade repositories.

ACCOUNTING

P&L

The gain or loss generated over a period or from a position, strategy or business activity.

SETTLEMENT

PvP

A settlement mechanism linking final transfer of one currency to final transfer of another to reduce principal risk.

RATES

RFR

A generic label for reference rates designed to be robust and based on low-credit-risk overnight markets.

BANKING

ROA

Profit relative to the asset base over a specified period.

BANKING

ROE

Profit relative to shareholders' equity over a specified period.

RESILIENCE

RPO

The target maximum data-loss interval used in business continuity and disaster recovery planning.

PAYMENTS

RTGS

A system that settles payments individually in real time in central-bank money or another designated settlement asset.

RESILIENCE

RTO

The target time within which a service or process should be restored after disruption.

BANKING

RWA

Exposures weighted under regulatory rules to determine risk-based capital requirements.

INSTITUTIONS

SEC

The US federal securities regulator.

SECURITY

SIEM

Technology and processes for collecting, correlating and analyzing security event data.

SYSTEMIC RISK

SIFI

A financial institution whose distress or failure could have significant consequences for the wider financial system.

OPERATIONS

SLA

A contractual or operational agreement defining service expectations and performance measures.

MONEY MARKETS

SOFR

A broad measure of the cost of borrowing cash overnight collateralized by US Treasury securities, administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

MONEY MARKETS

SONIA

The Bank of England-administered overnight benchmark for sterling unsecured wholesale transactions under its methodology.

BANKING

SREP

A supervisory process used to assess banks' risks, governance, capital and liquidity positions.

CENTRAL BANKING

SRF

A Federal Reserve facility designed to provide overnight liquidity against eligible securities to eligible counterparties under its terms.

MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE

SSS

Infrastructure enabling transfer and settlement of securities according to defined rules and arrangements.

OPERATIONS

STP

Automated processing of transactions from initiation through downstream stages with minimal manual intervention.

MESSAGING

SWIFT

A cooperative providing secure financial messaging services and standards used across the global financial system.

PAYMENTS

T2

The Eurosystem's RTGS service for settling large-value euro payments in central-bank money.

SETTLEMENT

T2S

A Eurosystem platform providing securities settlement services in central-bank money.

SOVEREIGN LIQUIDITY

TGA

The US Treasury's principal operating account at the Federal Reserve.

PAYMENTS

TIPS

The Eurosystem service for settling eligible instant payments in central-bank money around the clock.

RESOLUTION

TLAC

An international standard requiring designated global systemically important banks to maintain instruments capable of absorbing losses and supporting recapitalization in resolution.

MARKET INFRASTRUCTURE

TR

An entity that centrally collects and maintains records of derivatives or other reportable transactions.

RISK

VaR

A model-based loss threshold associated with a selected confidence level and time horizon.

CLEARING

VM

Collateral exchanged to reflect current mark-to-market gains and losses on positions.

FIXED INCOME

WAL

The principal-weighted average time until principal repayments are received.

FIXED INCOME

WAM

A weighted average of the time remaining to maturity across a portfolio or pool.

FIXED INCOME

YTM

The discount rate that equates a bond's price with its scheduled cash flows through maturity under stated assumptions.

FIXED INCOME

YTW

The lowest conventionally calculated yield across specified permissible redemption scenarios.