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Forex Loss

Sri Lanka Nations Trust Bank loses Rs800mn on forex bet

July 14, 2009 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Nations Trust Bank, a unit of John Keells Holdings has lost 800 million rupees on a forex bet, but the bank had ended the June 2009 quarter with a 150 million rupees in the black with bond trading profits, its interim results showed.

n the June quarter the bank showed an 800.3 million forex loss and 1,214 million rupees of other income, which covered the gap.

The bank said the forex bet came "from a breach in operating procedure" in its foreign currency banking unit and risk management has since been tightened.

"The aggressive provisioning in the first half, coupled with further tightening of risk management measures, means that we have cleared the decks and placed the bank in a strong position to propel ourselves for greater growth in the next half," chief executive Zulfiqar Zavahir said in a statement.

Sri Lanka's government securities rates plummeted in the first quarter from around 20.0 percent to 13.0 percent, giving holders of government bonds chance for large capital gains.

NTB showed government securities of 12.0 billion in its trading portfolio by end-June (up from 8.0 billion in December). The accounts showed funding of 12.7 billion through repurchase deals.

The bank also had 10.6 billion in government securities in the held-to-maturity stock, up from 7.3 billion in December.

Its performing loan book grew at a slow 3.0 percent to end at 42.7 billion rupees. Most banks had chosen to finance the government, rather than the private sector as the economy weakened.Loan loss provisions rose 77.0 percent to 467 million rupees. Group net non-performing ratio rose to 3.7 percent in June from 1.8 percent in December.

Group interest income grew 15.0 percent to 3.2 billion; interest expense grew 9.0 percent to 3.2 billion rupees allowing net interest income to grow at a faster 31.0 percent.

Deposits grew by 29.0 percent to 44.2 billion rupees.

Zavahir said the bank was expanding into the north and east with fresh branches to be opened in the next six months.

Group gross assets grew 11.0 percent to 75.2 billion rupees while net assets grew 2.0 percent to 4.4 billion. At bank level net assets were 3.8 billion rupees and it had total capital adequacy of 13.04 percent, (down from 15.2 percent in December) above regulatory requirements

SRI LANKA FOREX

With Sri Lanka moving away from a fixed exchange rate to a managed floating rate in November 1977 and a unified exchange rate with the cost of FEEC (Foreign Exchange Entitlement Certificate) added to the new exchange rate and the abolition of FEEC the foreign exchange and money market activities among the banks picked up with a considerable volume of operations in the late seventies and eighties. There was increasing forex sophistication than before. With the increase in volumes banks too increased their dealing cadre. There was enthusiasm and responsiveness from the dealers readily willing to learn the tricks of the trade.

It is at this stage that one sunny evening in January 1982, a few dealers from the banks met at the right place and time over a ‘spread of good cheer’ and by the time good byes were exchanged, an informal meeting was arranged for the 29th January 1982 at the HSBC officer’s mess with the kind courtesy of Mr. Sarath Piyaratne of his bank. If I remember right 16 of the 22 banks attended the meeting. It was unanimously decided to form a forex club and a 7 member pro-tem committee was appointed to draft the constitution and set up the club. Mr. Freddie Jayarajah served as pro-tem chairman.

The committee met regularly at the HSBC mess and after much deliberation and correspondence with banks locally and overseas, and keeping in constant touch with the Secretary General ACI (Association Cambiste Internationale) Mr. Geoffrey Munn drew up the draft constitution for approval at the Inaugural meeting of the dealers. This draft constitution was unanimously adopted at this meeting held at the then Hotel Taprobane on 6th August 1982 with the kind courtesy of the Bank of Ceylon. All dealers nominated by banks attended this meeting.

Mr. A Kathiravelupillai (Bank of Ceylon) was elected the Pro-tem Chairman and steered the adoption of the constitution and the election of the 1st President of the club who was elected unanimously and so were the other members of the committee of management. Whose names are as follows

President First VP Second VP Hon. Secy. Hon. Treasurer Comm. Members Hon. Auditor Mr. Freddie Jayarajah Mr. Sanjiva Senanayake Mr. T.Nishakaran Mr. Basil B Loduwick Mr. H. Walter Fernando Mr. Sarath Piyaratne Mr. A.L.Alagappan Mr. M.Neelakandan Bank of Ceylon Citibank Hatton National Bank Banque Indosuez Peoples Bank HSBC Indian Overseas Bank Dubai Bank Ltd.

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The committee decided to hold the official inauguration of the club on 22nd January 1983 followed by a cocktail party at the ‘C G Room of the Galle Face Hotel’ with the Hon. Acting Minister of Finance Mr. M.H.M.Naina Marikar as the Chief Guest, Dr.Warnasena Rasaputra as the Guest of Honour, Chief Executives from all the commercial Banks, Senior officials from the Central and commercial banks and chairman and executives from the business community. All the money Brokers too were invited, as they were key players in the forex and money market. The ready response from the banks was noteworthy and wide publicity was given to the event in the mass media, press, radio and television.

The Secretary General ACI Mr. Geoffrey Munn intimated to us that our Application for international affiliation to the parent body, Association Cambiste Internationale was receiving their favorable consideration.

The President and Secretary of ACI sent the club the following message “Heartiest congratulations on the occasion of the inaugural meeting of the Sri Lanka Forex Club. Very pleased to receive your application for affiliation to ACI, which I am happy, to put to the central committee as it stands for recommendation to the council. Very best wishes from us for a successful meeting and a bright future for your club.”

As a matter of urgency the committee adopted improvement in technical standards as a priority and several seminars and talks were organized namely financial futures, gold swaps, charting futures and options. Another important subject Foreign Exchange Risk and Controls with case study and discussions they were all resource personnel from overseas. A talk by Jose Hanna VP from Citibank, Singapore in his own inimitable style introduced himself ‘I was born in Brazil live in Singapore, work for an American bank, drive a Japanese car write with a French pen ‘Mont blanc’ and presently talking to dealers in Sri Lanka’

The club organized a day outing for its members for fellowship and friendship so essential in the dealing trade. A dealers word is ones bond and the need for togetherness.
On 29th March, 1983 the President of the SLFC received a telex message from the Secretary General ACI Mr. Geoffrey Munn advising him that the approval of the council of ACI to the affiliation of the Sri Lanka Forex Club as the 45th member of ACI. And the President was invited for the next council meeting in Luxembourg on 3rd June the same year followed by the International Congress. The President accepted the invitation and attended the council meeting and took part in its deliberations. He was successful in making a case for the participation by Sri Lanka at the ACI Junior Forex Seminar in Singapore. The President Forex Club Singapore Mr. Mukundan readily agreed to allot two places for the Sri Lanka Forex Club. Dealers from Hatton National Bank and Banque Indosuez attended the seminar.

The Forex Club received help from many quarters and we were reasonably proud of our fledgling club. Since 1982 the Club has undergone several changes, first with its logo, then a change of name, the introduction of brokers, and personnel dealing in the FX and money market. Membership in the club too has grown immensely from the 67 members at the inception. It is the earnest wish of all members that the Sri Lanka Forex Club now known as the Sri Lanka Forex Association will grow from strength to strength and members remain in future Action “ALWAYS A DEALER”

Forex Broker - How to Pick the Best Forex Broker

n order to trade Forex, you need to first find a Forex broker. Forex is still a relatively unregulated market and as a result there are many Forex brokers available each with different levels of service and reliability. Perhaps the best thing a Forex trader can do is to make sure they pick the right Forex broker for them.

Honest & Reliable
Before picking any broker, make sure you examine their company and background as thoroughly as you possibly can. Some good signs of a reliable Forex broker are the length of the time they have been in operation and if they are a member of any financial regulating bodies found in various countries that currently try to regulate the Forex market. You need to find a broker that you are comfortable with and not need to worry about them closing up shop without warning.

Leverage
One of the attractions of trading Forex is that traders can use leverage. Leverage allows a trader to trade with more money than they may physically have in their trading account. This allows traders to gain enormous profits with just a small amount of capital. Just how much leverage brokers offer varies.

Leverage can range from 1:1, where there is no leverage, to 1:400, where you can trade with up to 400 times the amount of capital you may physically have. To make the most of your trading, be sure to pick a broker that offers the amount of leverage you require.

Spend some time researching brokers before you make the final decision to open a live account and begin trading Forex. Doing so may pay off in the long run.

How to Get Started Trading Forex Online

Forex trading offers traders an incredible opportunity to make money and have fun while doing it. With the forex market open 24 hours a day, 6 days a week, this is perhaps one of the most tradable markets in the world. If you are considering trading forex, then there are a few things you need to do before you start trading.

Find a reliable broker. As with any kind of trading you will need to find a broker that matches your needs and you are happy with. Before opening a live account with a broker, check out their history and take a look at how long they have been in operation and how quickly they answer your emails or phone calls with any questions you may have.

Understand that there is risk involved with trading. While forex trading offers the chance to make money online, there is always risk involved. Manage your trades and control your emotions while trading. By doing this you control the amount of risk you expose yourself to and increase your chances of entering into profitable trades.

Get some forex education. Even if you have traded other markets before, consider getting some education on the forex market. There are a wide variety of currency pairs available and each one has its own personality which may affect the style or methods of trading that work best with it.

Trading forex can be a very exciting and rewarding venture. Always do your homework when it comes to picking a reliable broker and only open accounts with brokers once you have thoroughly checked them out. To gain an edge, get some forex trading education and remember to never risk too much on each trade and always control your risk.

Want to know even more killer trading tips? Visit the swing trading and forex swing trading? site today.

How to Get Started on Your Online Forex Trading

Forex trading is a very flexible business and you're the one calling the shots. Still, if you're not careful, you can find yourself losing your modal as well. Therefore, here are a few things that you should know before you get started.

1. Having a broker

You will first need a broker to execute your orders and sometimes, to advise you in your trading decisions. There are many brokers out there and you'll need to be extra careful in finding one who can execute your orders anytime. Consider looking at each brokers' trade records and see how they've done in forex trading over the years. Most important thing is you need a broker that you feel comfortable with and who is also comfortable with you.

2. Diagrams

Next thing that you need to do is to understand how to read the diagram. You will need to understand the diagrams as only then you know the movement of the market. By choosing shorter time frames, you can clearly see the progress of the market by the minute. Usually, diagram software will use bars and lines to represent progress. Take your own sweet time figuring out each style and which one you are most comfortable with.

3. Using a demo account

Previously, you have to take risk without the experience or expertise to invest in forex trading. Nowadays, there are mock accounts which enable you to earn valuable experiences before going into live trades. As you would have a broker by now, he/she will usually let you have a trial in trading by using mock money. So, know your way around the software before you jump into the money making channel.

4. Going into live trades

So you've figured out everything you need to go into live trade. First rule is: don't be greedy. You might earn some the first few times but it doesn't mean you'll always score in the forex market. If you do lose, keep calm and do not give up completely but to see it as a learning experience or a mistake that you wouldn't do next time. Learning never stops so keep trying and it wouldn't be long before you earn your real satisfying profit.

How to Make Serious Money Forex Trading

Forex trading, like any other form of trading, is about planning your strategy in advance. In other words, you must know exactly how are you going to profit from the stock market before you even think about putting money at stake.

There are many ways to achieve the goal of having a trading strategy:

1. You can device one yourself.
2. You can take a Forex course and learn from an expert.
3. You can use a signal service and simply execute a strategy provided by a third party; or
4. You can use an EA or Forex software with the ability to manage your trading account automatically.

Any of these options will be a good one, although I you will be better off if you have a little bit of everything.

What I mean by this is that even if you have the best Forex software in your trading platform, or you use the best Forex signals service, having an understanding of the Forex market will always be a plus.

Therefore, if you want to actually make money Forex trading, you must always keep your arsenal of trading tools and resources growing, along with your knowledge of the Forex market.

Also, once you have a strategy in place (whether it is via Forex courses, services or software) always put that strategy to the test on paper money for at least two months, because as they say: only practice makes perfect, and even if you are using signals or a software, you have to make sure your are doing everything by the book.