Chapter 21—International Cash Management
1. The Mexican one-year interest rate is 27 percent, while the U.S. one-year interest rate is 9 percent. If a
U.S. firm creates a one-year deposit in Mexico, the Mexican peso would have to ____ against the U.S.
dollar by ____ in order to make that investment have an effective yield that is achievable in the U.S.
a.
appreciate; 18%
b.
depreciate; 36%
c.
depreciate; 14%
d.
appreciate; 14%
e.
depreciate; 8.5%
2. Assume that Subsidiaries X and Y often trade with each other. Assume that Subsidiary X has excess
cash while Subsidiary Y is short on cash. How can Subsidiary X help out Subsidiary Y?
a.
X should lag its payments sent to Y to pay for imports from Y.
b.
X should request that Y lead its payments to be sent for goods that Y sent to X.
c.
A and B
d.
None of the above
3. Netting can achieve all but one of the following:
a.
Cross border transactions between subsidiaries are reduced.
b.
Transactions costs are reduced.
c.
Currency conversion costs are reduced.
d.
Transaction exposure is eliminated.
4. Which of the following is true?
a.
Some countries may prohibit netting.
b.
Some countries may prohibit forms of leading and lagging.
c.
A and B
d.
None of the above
5. According to the text:
a.
banks in the U.S. are prohibited from facilitating cash transfers for MNCs.
b.
banks in most non-U.S. countries are more advanced than the U.S. in facilitating cash
transfers for MNCs.
c.
an MNC with subsidiaries in several different countries has no problems in coordinating
its cash transfers since a uniform global banking system exists.
d.
none of the above
6. In what is known as dynamic hedging, banks always hedge open positions in any foreign currencies.
a. True
b. False
7. Assume the U.S. one-year interest rate is 11% and the French one-year interest rate is 18%. The
break-even level of depreciation in the euro at which the U.S. and French investments would exhibit
the same return to a U.S. investor is:
a.
about 5.1%.
b.
about 6.8%.
c.
about 6.3%.
d.
about 5.9%.
8. Assume that a U.S. investor invests in a British CD offering a six-month interest rate of 5%. Over this
six-month period, the pound depreciates by 9%. The effective yield on the British CD for the U.S.
investor is:
a.
14.45%.
b.
−4.45%.
c.
14.00%.
d.
−4.00%.
9. Assume that there are several foreign currencies that exhibit a higher interest rate than the U.S. interest
rate. The U.S. firm has a higher probability of generating a higher effective yield on a portfolio of
currencies (relative to the domestic yield) if:
a.
the foreign currency movements against the U.S. dollar are highly correlated.
b.
the foreign currency movements against the U.S. dollar are perfectly positively correlated.
c.
the foreign currency movements against the U.S. dollar exhibit low correlations.
d.
none of the answers above would have any impact on the probability of a foreign cash
investment generating a higher effective yield than a U.S. investment.
10. If the international Fisher effect (IFE) exists, then a U.S. firm that has access to banks offering high
interest rates in deposits denominated in foreign currencies should:
a.
invest in the foreign deposits since they will, on average, generate higher effective yields
than a U.S. deposit.
b.
invest in the U.S. deposits since they will, on average, generate higher effective yields
than a foreign deposit.
c.
invest in the U.S. deposits since they will, on average, generate similar effective yields as
a foreign deposit.
d.
invest in the foreign deposits since they will, on average, generate similar effective yields
as a U.S. deposit.
11. The most useful measure of an MNC‘s liquidity is its:
a.
cash balance.
b.
amount of securities held as investments.
c.
political risk rating.
d.
potential access to funds.
12. Generally, if interest rate parity holds and the forward rate is an unbiased predictor of the future spot
rate, then the international Fisher effect will also hold.
a. True
b. False
13. According to the international Fisher effect:
a.
exchange rates adjust to compensate for income differentials between countries.
b.
interest rates adjust to compensate for income differentials between countries.
c.
exchange rates adjust to compensate for interest rate differentials between countries.
d.
exchange rates adjust to compensate for risk differentials between countries.
14. The international Fisher effect suggests that:
a.
the effective yield on short-term foreign securities should, on average, equal the yield on
short-term domestic securities.
b.
the effective yield on short-term securities of high inflation countries is greater than the
yield on short-term domestic securities.
c.
if domestic income grows faster than foreign income, the effective yield on short-term
foreign securities is higher than short-term domestic securities.
d.
if foreign tax rates equal domestic tax rates, the exchange rates of different currencies will
change by the same degree.
15. If a foreign currency consistently depreciated against the dollar over several periods and had lower
interest rates at the beginning of those periods than the U.S. interest rates, then:
a.
U.S. firms could have achieved a higher effective yield on foreign deposits than on U.S.
deposits during those periods.
b.
the international Fisher effect is supported by the results.
c.
A and B
d.
none of the above
16. In a bilateral netting system, transactions between the parent and a subsidiary or between two
subsidiaries are consolidated over a specific period of time.
a. True
b. False
17. A common purpose of inter-subsidiary leading or lagging strategies is to:
a.
allow subsidiaries with excess funds to provide financing to subsidiaries with deficient
funds.
b.
assure that the inventory levels at subsidiaries are maintained within tolerable ranges.
c.
change the prices a high-tax rate subsidiary charges a low-tax rate subsidiary.
d.
measure the performance of subsidiaries according to how quickly subsidiaries remit
dividend payments to the parent.
18. Assume that a U.S. firm considers investing in British one-year Treasury securities. The interest rate
on these securities is 12%, while the interest rate on the same securities in the U.S. is 10%. The firm
believes that today’s spot rate is an appropriate forecast for the spot rate of the pound in one year.
Based on this information, the effective yield on British securities from the U.S. firm’s perspective is:
a.
equal to the U.S. interest rate.
b.
equal to the British interest rate.
c.
lower than the U.S. interest rate.
d.
higher than the British interest rate.
e.
lower than the British interest rate, but higher than the U.S. interest rate.
19. Assume that in recent months, most currencies of industrialized countries depreciated substantially
against the dollar. Assume that their interest rates were similar to the U.S. interest rate. If non-U.S.
firms invested in U.S. Treasury securities during this period, their effective yield would have been:
a.
negative.
b.
zero.
c.
positive, but less than the interest rate of their respective countries.
d.
more than the interest rate of their respective countries.
20. According to ____, the effective yield earned by U.S. investors will be the same as the effective yield
earned by non-U.S. investors in any given period.
a.
interest rate parity (IRP)
b.
the international Fisher effect (IFE)
c.
purchasing power parity (PPP)
d.
none of the above
21. Assume Costner Corporation, a U.S.-based MNC, invests 2,500,000 Zambian kwacha (ZMK) for a
one-year period at a nominal interest rate of 9%. At the time the loan is extended, the spot rate of the
kwacha is $.00060. If the spot rate of the kwacha in one year is $.00056, the dollar amount initially
invested in Zambia is $____, and $____ are paid out after one year.
a.
1,500; 1,526
b.
1,526; 1,500
c.
1,500; 1,400
d.
1,400; 1,500
22. Bullock Corporation invests 1,500,000 South African rand at a nominal interest rate of 10%. At the
time the investment is made, the spot rate of the rand is $.205. If the spot rate of the rand at maturity of
the investment is $.203, what is the effective yield of investing in rand?
a.
11.08%.
b.
8.92%.
c.
10.00%.
d.
none of the above
23. Assume that interest rate parity holds. The U.S. one-year interest rate is 10% and the Australian
one-year interest rate is 8%. What will the approximate effective yield be for an Australian citizen of a
one-year deposit denominated in U.S. dollars? Assume the deposit is covered by a forward sale of
dollars.
a.
10%.
b.
8%.
c.
2%.
d.
cannot answer without more information
24. Assume that you forecast the value of the euro as follows for the next year:
Percentage Change
Probability of Occurrence
−2%
30%
3%
40%
5%
30%
If the interest rate on the euro is 12%, the expected effective yield from a euro-denominated deposit is:
a.
15.36%.
b.
15.70%.
c.
12.00%.
d.
14.35%.
e.
none of the above
Computation of
= 17.60%
30%
Exhibit 21-1
To benefit from the low correlation between the Trinidad dollar and the Japanese yen (¥), Sciorra
Corporation decides to invest 50% of total funds invested in Trinidad dollars and the remainder in yen.
The domestic yield on a one-year deposit is 8%. The Trinidad one-year interest rate is 10% and the
Japanese one-year interest rate is 7%. Sciorra has determined the following possible percentage
changes in the two individual currencies as follows:
Currency
Percentage Change
Probability
Trinidad dollar
−1.0%
35%
25. Refer to Exhibit 21-1. What is the expected effective yield of the portfolio Sciorra is contemplating
(assume the two currencies move independently from one another)?
a.
6.47%.
b.
8.84%.
c.
8.50%.
d.
none of the above
26. Refer to Exhibit 21-1. What is the probability that the yield of the two-currency portfolio is less than
the domestic yield?
a.
.1575.
b.
.35.
c.
.6425.
d.
1.
e.
none of the above
yield a higher rate than investing domestically.
Exhibit 21-2
Moore Corporation would like to simultaneously invest in Malaysian ringgit (MYR) and Romanian leu
(ROL) for a three-month period. Moore would like to determine the expected yield and the variance of
a portfolio consisting of 40% ringgit and 60% leu. Moore has identified the following information:
Mean effective financing rate of Malaysian ringgit for three months
3%
Mean effective financing rate of Romanian leu for three months
2%
Standard deviation of Malaysian ringgit’s effective financing rate
.15
Standard deviation of Romanian leu’s effective financing rate
.07
Correlation coefficient of effective financing rates of these two currencies
.19
27. Refer to Exhibit 21-2. What is the expected effective yield of the portfolio contemplated by Moore
Corporation?
a.
2.50%.
b.
2.60%.
c.
2.40%.
d.
none of the above
(.4)(3%) + (.6)(2%) = 2.40%.
28. Refer to Exhibit 21-2. What is the standard deviation of the portfolio contemplated by Moore
Corporation?
a.
.624%.
b.
7.950%.
c.
1.040%.
d.
10.200%.
e.
none of the above
29. Lockboxes are post office box numbers assigned to employees for picking up their paychecks.
a. True
b. False
30. Preauthorized payment is an arrangement that allows a corporation to charge a customer’s bank
account up to some limit.
a. True
b. False
31. Although netting typically increases the need for foreign exchange conversion, it generally reduces the
number of cross border transactions between subsidiaries.
a. True
b. False
32. Leading refers to the payment of supplies earlier than necessary; lagging refers to the payment of
supplies later than allowed.
a. True
b. False
33. Since exchange rate forecasts are not always accurate, a probability distribution of possible exchange
rates may be preferable to a single point estimate.
a. True
b. False
34. When investing in a portfolio of foreign currencies, the currencies represented within the portfolio are
ideally highly positively correlated.
a. True
b. False
35. A subsidiary will normally have a more difficult time forecasting future outflow payments if its
purchases are international rather than domestic.
a. True
b. False
36. To ____, MNCs can use preauthorized payments.
a.
accelerate cash inflows
b.
minimize currency conversion costs
c.
manage blocked funds
d.
manage intersubsidiary cash transfers
37. ____ may complicate cash flow optimization.
a.
The use of a zero-balance account
b.
Government restrictions
c.
Leading and lagging
d.
None of the above
38. MNCs often use ____ to invest excess cash while retaining liquidity.
a.
international bond markets
b.
international equity markets
c.
international money markets
d.
the market for acquisitions
39. Centralized cash management is more complicated when the MNC uses multiple currencies.
a. True
b. False
40. In general, exchange rate fluctuations cause cash flows to be more volatile and uncertain.
a. True
b. False
41. Since each subsidiary may be more concerned with its own operations than with the overall operations
of the MNC, a centralized management group may need to monitor the parent-subsidiary and
intersubsidiary cash flows.
a. True
b. False
42. A currency portfolio’s variability depends on the standard deviations and paired correlations of
effective yields of the individual currencies within the portfolio.
a. True
b. False
43. An MNC has determined that the degree of appreciation for the Singapore dollar that equates the
foreign and domestic yield is 2%. If the Singapore dollar appreciates by less than 2%, the investment
in Singapore will be more attractive.
a. True
b. False
44. When investing in a portfolio of foreign currencies, the currencies represented within the portfolio are
ideally highly positively correlated if the goal is to reduce exchange rate risk.
a. True
b. False
45. The effective yield of investing in a foreign currency depends on both the ____ and the ____ of the
foreign currency.
a.
inflation rate; exchange rate movements
b.
income level; interest rates
c.
interest rates; exchange rate movements
d.
interest rates; amount invested
46. Zanada Corporation invests 1,500,000 South African rand (ZAR) at a nominal interest rate of 10%. At
the time the investment is made, the spot rate of the rand is $0.205. If the spot rate of the rand at
maturity of the investment is $0.203, what is the effective yield of investing in rand?
a.
11.08%
b.
8.93%
c.
10.00%
d.
None of the above
47. Which of the following statements is false?
a.
If interest rate parity exists, covered interest arbitrage is not worthwhile.
b.
If interest rate parity holds and the forward rate is an accurate forecast of the future spot
rate, an uncovered investment in a foreign security is not worthwhile.
c.
If interest rate parity exists and the forward rate is an unbiased forecast of the future spot
rate, an uncovered investment in a foreign security will on average earn an effective yield
similar to an investment in a domestic security.
d.
If interest rate parity exists and the forward rate is expected to underestimate the future
spot rate, an uncovered investment in a foreign security is expected to earn a lower
effective yield than an investment in a domestic security.
48. If interest rate parity does not hold, and the forward ____ is greater than the interest rate differential,
then covered interest arbitrage is feasible for investors residing in the ____ country.
a.
premium; home
b.
discount; home
c.
premium; foreign
d.
B and C
49. Assume the U.S. one-year interest rate is 15%, while the South African one-year interest rate is 13%.
If the South African rand ____ by ____%, a U.S.-based MNC is indifferent between investing in
dollars and investing in rand.
a.
depreciates; 1.77
b.
appreciates; 1.74
c.
appreciates; 1.77
d.
depreciates; 1.74
50. Which of the following is not a technique to optimize cash flows?
a.
Accelerate cash inflows
b.
Minimize currency conversion costs
c.
Manage blocked funds
d.
All of the above are techniques to optimize cash flows
51. A ____ allows customers to send payments to a post office box number.
a.
bilateral netting system
b.
multilateral netting system
c.
lockbox
d.
preauthorized payment
