Unit 8

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

How do you make money? Spin-offs, split-ups, liquidations, mergers and

acquisitions. - Mario Gabelli (1942), American businessman.

A. TERMS, THEORIES AND DEFINITIONS

Mergers and acquisitions (abbreviated M&As) refers to the aspect of
corporate strategy, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying,
selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that
can aid, finance, or help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of
origin or a new field or new location without creating a subsidiary, other child
entity or using a joint venture. The distinction between a "merger" and an
"acquisition" has become increasingly blurred in various aspects (particularly in
terms of the ultimate economic outcome), although it has not completely
disappeared in all situations.
A merger refers to the absorption of one firm by another. The acquiring firm
retains its name and identity, and it acquires all of the assets and liabilities of the
acquired firm. After a merger, the acquired firm ceases to exist as a separate
business entity.
An acquisition is the purchase of one business or company by another
company or other business entity. Consolidation occurs when two companies
combine together to form a new enterprise altogether, and neither of the previous
companies survives independently. Acquisitions are divided into "private" and
"public" acquisitions, depending on whether the acquiree or merging company
(also termed a target) is or is not listed on public stock markets. An additional
dimension or categorization consists of whether an acquisition is friendly or
hostile.
Achieving acquisition success has proven to be very difficult, while various
studies have shown that 50% of acquisitions were unsuccessful.The acquisition
process is very complex, with many dimensions influencing its outcome.

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 Whether a purchase is perceived as being a "friendly" one or a "hostile"
depends significantly on how the proposed acquisition is communicated to and
perceived by the target company's board of directors, employees and
shareholders. It is normal for M&A deal communications to take place in a so-
called 'confidentiality bubble' wherein the flow of information is restricted
pursuant to confidentiality agreements. In the case of a friendly transaction, the
companies cooperate in negotiations; in the case of a hostile deal, the board
and/or management of the target is unwilling to be bought or the target's board
has no prior knowledge of the offer. Hostile acquisitions can, and often do,
ultimately become "friendly", as the acquiror secures endorsement of the
transaction from the board of the acquiree company. This usually requires an
improvement in the terms of the offer and/or through negotiation.
"Acquisition" usually refers to a purchase of a smaller firm by a larger one.
Sometimes, however, a smaller firm will acquire management control of a larger
and/or longer-established company and retain the name of the latter for the post-
acquisition combined entity. This is known as a reverse takeover. Another type
of acquisition is the reverse merger, a form of transaction that enables a private
company to be publicly listed in a relatively short time frame. A reverse merger
occurs when a privately held company (often one that has strong prospects and is
eager to raise financing) buys a publicly listed shell company, usually one with
no business and limited assets.
Mergers vs. Acquisitions
Although often used synonymously, the terms merger and acquisition mean
slightly different things. When one company takes over another and clearly
establishes itself as the new owner, the purchase is called an acquisition. From a
legal point of view, the target company ceases to exist, the buyer "swallows" the
business and the buyer's stock continues to be traded.
In the pure sense of the term, a merger happens when two firms agree to go
forward as a single new company rather than remain separately owned and
operated. This kind of action is more precisely referred to as a "merger of
equals". The firms are often of about the same size. Both companies' stocks are
surrendered and new company stock is issued in its place. For example, in the
1999 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham, both firms ceased to
exist when they merged, and a new company, GlaxoSmithKline, was created.
In practice, however, actual mergers of equals don't happen very often.
Usually, one company will buy another and, as part of the deal's terms, simply

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allow the acquired firm to proclaim that the action is a merger of equals, even if
it is technically an acquisition. Being bought out often carries negative
connotations; therefore, by describing the deal euphemistically as a merger, deal
makers and top managers try to make the takeover more palatable. An example
of this would be the takeover of Chrysler by Daimler-Benz in 1999 which was
widely referred to as a merger at the time.
A purchase deal will also be called a merger when both CEOs agree that
joining together is in the best interest of both of their companies. But when the
deal is unfriendly (that is, when the target company does not want to be
purchased) it is always regarded as an acquisition.
Takeover is a general and imprecise term referring to the transfer of control
of a firm from one group of shareholders to another. A firm that has decided to
take over another firm is usually referred to as the bidder. The bidder offers to
pay cash or securities to obtain the stock or assets of another company. If the
offer is accepted, the target firm will give up control over its stock or assets to the
bidder in exchange for consideration (i.e., its stock, its debt, or cash). Takeovers
can occur by acquisitions, proxy contests, and going-private transactions.
Terms and definitions:
i. To merge: to unite, combine, amalgamate, integrate or join together.
ii. To acquire: to buy, to gain to get, to receive, to take possession of
something; to take over a company by buying its shares; to make an
acquisition.
iii. A raid means buying another company‘s shares on the stock exchange,
hoping to persuade enough other shareholders to sell to take control of the
company.
iv. A takeover bid is a public offer to a company‘s shareholders to buy their
shares, at a particular price during a particular period, so as to acquire a
company. (to make a takeover bid vs. to withdraw a takeover bid)
v. Horizontal integration is to merge with or take over other firms producing
the same type of goods or services.
vi. Vertical integration means joining with firms in other stages of the
production or sale of a product.
vii. Backward integration is a merger with or the acquisition of one‘s
suppliers.

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 viii. Forward integration is a merger with or the acquisition of one‘s
marketing outlets.
ix. Synergy means combined production that is greater than the sum of the
separate parts.
x. Acquisition accounting means a full consolidation, where the assets of a
subsidiary company which has been purchased are included in the parent
company‘s balance sheet, and the premium paid for the goodwill is written
off against the year‘s earnings.

B. VOCABULARY EXERCISES
Exercise 1: Complete the texts with the words in the boxes.

diversifying optimizing rationalizing

reducing reinforcing searching

Sooner or later, all companies need to introduce new products and services.
Large companies often have the choice of innovating – developing new products,
services or markets themselves – or of buying another, smaller company with
successful products. If the other company is too big to acquire, another
possibility is to merge or amalgamate with it. Other reasons for taking over or
combining with other companies include:
(1) …………………….. your company‘s position;
(2) …………………….. competition;
(3) …………………….. production;
(4) ……………………. the use of a plant or invested capital;
(5) ……………………. products or markets; and
(6) ……………………. for synergy (the belief that together the companies
will produce more than the sum of the two separate parts).

buy grow increase launch persuade sell

A company that wants to (7) ……………….. or diversify can (8)

………………… a raid - in other words, simply (9) ……………… a large

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quantity of another company‘s shares on the stock exchange. A ―dawn raid‖
consists of buying shares through several brokers early in the morning, before the
market has time to notice the rising price, and before speculators join in. This
will immediately (10) ………………. the share price, and may (11)
……………… a sufficient number of other shareholders to (12)
……………………. for the raider to take control of the company.
Exercise 2. Choose the best word to go into the space.
1. Berlin Brothers bought a __________ shareholding in Anderson
Accounting.
a. more-than-half b. biggest c. majority
2. In the UK, mergers and acquisitions are not __________ by the
government.
a. controlled b. checked c. regulated
3. However, they are subject to a voluntary __________.
a. code of conduct b. code of practice c. way of doing things
4. Buying a company for less than the value of its assets, then selling those
assets to make a profit is called__________.
a. asset stripping b. profiteering c. exploitation
5. Sometimes a controlling interest in a company is bought by its managers.
This is called a management__________.
a. buy-out b. buy-up c. buy-in
6. In the past, a lot of small banks were __________ by larger ones.
a. bought up b. eaten up c. chewed up
7. In other words, there was __________ in the banking industry.
a. amalgamation b. combining c. consolidation
8. A takeover of a foreign company is known as a __________ deal.
a. cross-boundary b. cross-border c. cross-state
Exercise 3. Choose the best word from each pair in bold type.
1. Anderson Accounting has been taken over / taken up by Berlin Brothers.
2. Collins Corporation has made a bid / play for Dacher Deutsche

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 3. The board of Dacher Deutsche rejected / denied Collins Corporation's
offer.
4. Eastern Electricity has joined / merged with Grampian Gas
5. Inter-tek has been sold by its father / parent company, Harrison Holdings.
6. Inter-tek has been acquired / got by Johnson & Johnson
7. Harrison Holdings is expected to sell more of its subsidiaries/children in
the future.

C. READING
Reading 1: Read the article below and decide if the author is generally
optimistic or pessimistic about future strategic alliances.

Spring in their steps. Some notes for company bosses out on the prowl.
(Adapted from The Economist. February, 2004.)
1. After a long hibernation, company bosses are beginning to rediscover their
animal spirits. The $145 billion-worth of global mergers and acquisitions
announced last month was the highest for any month in over three years.
There are now lots of chief executives thinking about what target they
might attack in order to add growth and value to their companies and glory
to themselves. Although they slowed down for a while because of the dot-
com boom, they are once again on the prowl.
2. What should CEOs do to improve their chances of success in the coming
rush to buy? First of all, they should not worry too much about widely-
quoted statistics suggesting that as many as three out of every four deals
have failed to create shareholder value for the acquiring company. The
figures are heavily influenced by the time period chosen and in any case
one out of four is not bad when compared with the chances of getting a
new business started. So, they should keep looking for good targets.
3. There was a time when top executives considered any type of business to
be a good target. But in the 1990s the idea of the conglomerate, the
holding company with a diverse portfolio of businesses, went out of
fashion as some of its most prominent protagonists - CBS and Hanson
Trust, for example -- faltered. Companies had found by then that they
could add more value by concentrating on their 'core competence',

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 although one of the most successful companies of that decade, General
Electric, was little more than an old-style conglomerate with a particularly
fast-changing portfolio.
4. Brian Roberts, the man who built Comcast into a giant cable company, was
always known for concentrating on his core product -- until his
recent bid for Disney, that is. It is not yet clear whether his bid is an
opportunistic attempt to acquire and break up an undervalued firm, or
whether he is chasing the media industry's dream of combining
entertainment content with distribution, a strategy which has made
fortunes for a few but which regularly proves the ruin of many big media
takeovers.
5. If vertical integration is Comcast's aim, then it will be imperative for Mr.
Roberts to have a clear plan of how to achieve that. For in the end, CEOs
will be judged less for spotting a good target than for digesting it well, a
much more difficult task. The assumption will be that, if they are paying a
lot of money for a business, they know exactly what they want to do with
it.
6. If CEOs wish to avoid some of the failures of the 1990s, they should not
forget that they are subject to the eternal tendency of business planners to
be over-confident. It is a near certainty that, if asked, almost 99 per cent of
them would describe themselves as 'above average' at making mergers and
acquisitions work. Sad as it may be, that can never be true.
7. They should also be aware that they will be powerfully influenced by the
herd instinct, the feeling that it is better to be wrong in large numbers than
to be right alone. In the coming months they will have to watch carefully
to be sure that the competitive space into which the predator in front of
them is so joyfully leaping does not lie at the edge of a cliff.

READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Read the article again. Are these statements true or false?
1. In the first paragraph, the author says that CEOs can no longer find targets
for mergers and acquisitions.
2. Studying facts and figures from the recent past won't necessarily help
CEOs to form a successful alliance.

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 3. The trend in the 1990s was for companies to build portfolios with diverse
investments.
4. The author suggests that media mergers are always likely to improve share
value.
5. CEOs need above all to find the right company to acquire.
6. If business planners wish to avoid some of the errors of the 1990s, they
should be prudent when taking risks.
Exercise 2. Vocabulary Practice:
Find the words in italics in the text and match them with their meaning
below.
_______________ A collection of companies.
_______________ An offer to buy.
_______________ Most important activity.
_______________ Controlling all stages of one particular type of business.
_______________ Organization comprising several companies.
_______________ What stocks in a public company are worth.
Reading 2:

Successful companies generally want to diversify; to introduce new

products or services and enter new markets. Yet entering new markets with
new brands is usually a slow, expensive and risky process, so buying
another company with existing products and customers is often cheaper and
safer. If a company is too big to acquire, another possibility is to merge
A
with it, forming a new company out of the two old ones. Apart from
diversifying, reasons for acquiring companies include getting stronger
position in a market and a larger market share, reducing competition,
benefiting from economies of scale, and making better use of plant and
equipment.
There are two ways to acquire a company: a raid or a takeover bid. A raid
simply involves buying as many of a company‘s stocks as possible on the
B
stock market. Of course, if there is more demand for stock than there are
sellers, this increases the stock price. A takeover bid is a public offer to a

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 company‘s stockholders to buy their stocks at a certain price (higher than
the current market price) during a limited period of time. This can be much
more expensive than a raid, because if all the stockholders accept the bid,
the buyer has to purchase 100% of the company‘s stocks, even though they
only need 50% plus one to gain control of a company. (In fact, they often
need much less, many stockholders do not vote at stockholders‘ meetings.)
If stockholders accept a bid, but receive stocks in the other company instead
of cash, it is not always clear if the operation is a takeover or a merger –
journalists sometimes use both terms.
Companies are sometimes encouraged to take over other ones by
investment banks, if researchers in their Mergers and Acquisitions
C
departments consider that the target companies are undervalued. Banks can
earn high fees for advising on takeovers.
Yet there are also a number of good arguments against takeovers.
Diversification can damage a company‘s image, goodwill and shared values
(e.g. quality, good service, innovation). After a hostile takeover (where the
managers of a company do not want it to be taken over), the top executives
of the newly acquired company are often replaced or choose to leave. This
D is a problem if what made the company special was its staff (or ‗human
capital‘) rather than its products and customer base. Furthermore, a
company‘s optimum size or market share can be quite small, and large
conglomerates can become unmanageable and inefficient. Takeovers do not
always result in synergy. In fact, statistics show that most mergers and
acquisitions reduce rather than increase the company‘s value.
Consequently, corporate raider and private equity companies look for large
conglomerates (formed by a series of takeovers) which have become
inefficient, and so are undervalued. In other words, their market
capitalization (the price of all their stocks) is less than the value of their
total assets, including land, buildings and – unfortunately – pension funds.
Raiders can borrow money, usually by issuing bonds and buy the
E
companies. They then split them up or sell off the assets, and then pay back
the bonds while making a large profit. Until the law was changed, they
were also able to appropriate the pension funds. This is known as asset-
stripping, and such takeovers are called leveraged buyouts or LBOs. If a
company‘s own managers buy its stocks, this is a management buyout or
MBO.

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 READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
Exercise 1. Read the text and match the titles (1- 5) to the paragraphs
(A-E).
1 Disadvantages of takeovers
2 Raiders and assets-stripping
3 Raids and bids
4 The ‗make-or-buy‘ decision
5 The role of banks

Exercise 2. Find words or phrases in the text that mean the following:

1 Adding new and different products or services

A company‘s sales expressed as a percentage of the total
2
sales in a market
3 Reductions in costs resulting from increased production
4 Money paid to investment banks for work done
All the individuals or organizations that regularly or
5
occasionally purchase goods or services from a company
6 Best, perfect or ideal (adjective)
Combined production or productivity that is greater than the
7
sum of the separate parts
People or companies that try to buy and sell other companies
8
to make a profit
Large corporations or groups of companies offering a number
9
of different products or services
Buying a company in order to sell its most valuable assets at
10
a profit

Reading 3: Leveraged Buyouts

One indication that the people who warn against takeovers might be right is
the existence of leveraged buyouts.

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 In the 1960s, a big wave of takeovers in the US created conglomerates –
collections of unrelated businesses combined into a single corporate structure. It
later became clear that many of these conglomerates consisted of too many
companies and not enough synergy. After the recession of the early 1980s, there
were many large companies on the US stock market with good earnings but low
stock prices. Their assets were worth more than the companies‘ market value.
Such conglomerates were clearly not maximizing stockholder value. The
individual companies might have been more efficient if liberated from central
management. Consequently, raiders were able to borrow money, buy badly-
managed, inefficient and underpriced corporations, and then restructure them,
split them up, and resell them at a profit.
Conventional financial theory argues that stock markets are efficient,
meaning that all relevant information about companies is built into their share
prices. Raiders in the 1980s discovered that this was quite simply untrue.
Although the market could understand data concerning companies‘ earnings, it
was highly inefficient in valuing assets, including land, buildings and pension
funds. Asset-stripping – selling off the assets of poorly performing or under –
valued companies – proved to be highly lucrative.
Theoretically, there was little risk of making a loss with a buyout, as the
debts incurred were guaranteed by the companies‘ assets. The ideal targets for
such buyouts were companies with huge cash reserves that enabled the buyer to
pay the interest on the debt, or companies with successful subsidiaries that could
be sold to repay the principal, or companies in fields that are not sensitive to a
recession, such as food and tobacco.
Takeovers using borrowed money are called ‗leveraged buyouts‘ or ‗LBOs‘.
Leverage means having a large proportion of debt compared to equity capital.
(Where a company is bought by its existing managers, we talk of a management
buyout or MBO). Much of the money for LBOs was provided by the American
investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, where Michael Milken was able to
convince investors that the high returns on debt issued by risky enterprises
more than compensated for their riskiness, as the rate of default was lower than
might be expected. He created a huge and liquid market of up to 300 billion
dollars for ‗junk bonds‘. (Milken was later arrested and charged with 98
different felonies, including a lot of insider dealing, and Drexel Burnham
Lambert went bankrupt in 1990).

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 Raiders and their supporters argue that the permanent threat of takeovers is a
challenge to company managers and directors to do their jobs better, and that
well-run businesses that are not undervalued are at little risk. The threat of raids
forces companies to put capital to productive use. Fat or lazy companies that fail
to do this will be taken over by raiders who will use assets more efficiently, cut
costs, and increase shareholder value.

READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES

Exercise 1: Underline the arguments in favour of leveraged buyouts.
Exercise 2: Complete the following sentences, which summarize the text
above.
1. The fact that many large conglomerates‘ assets were worth more than their
stock market valuation demonstrated that …………
2. Raiders bought conglomerates in order to ………..
3. Raiders showed that the stock market did not ………….
4. Raiders were particularly interested in ……………
5. Investors were prepared to lend money to finance LBOs because …………
6. Raiders argue that the possibility of a buyout ……………

D. ESSAY WRITING

Some people say that engaging in mergers and acquisitions does not always
bring about the results as being expected or wished for by acquirers. Do you
agree or disagree with this statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your
own knowledge and experience.
Write at least 300 words.

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 Unit 9
BANKING

A. TERMS, THEORIES AND DEFINITIONS

Banks: Banks are financial institutions that accept deposits and make loans.
The term banks includes firms such as commercial banks, savings and loan
associations, mutual savings banks, and credit unions. Banks are the financial
intermediaries that the average person interacts with most frequently. A person
who needs a loan to buy a house or a car usually obtains it from a local bank.
Most people keep a large portion of their financial wealth in banks in the form of
checking accounts, savings accounts, or other types of bank deposits.
Banking: The business activity of accepting and safeguarding money owned
by other individuals and entities, and then lending out this money in order to earn
a profit.
Commercial Bank: A commercial bank is a type of financial intermediary
and a type of bank. It is a bank that provides checking accounts, savings
accounts, and money market accounts and that accepts time deposits. It raises
funds by collecting deposits from businesses and consumers via checkable
deposits, savings deposits, and time (or term) deposits. It makes loans to
businesses and consumers. It also buys corporate bonds and government bonds.
Its primary liabilities are deposits and primary assets are loans and bonds.
Investment Bank: An Investment Bank is a financial institution that deals
with raising capital, trading in securities and managing corporate mergers and
acquisitions.
Merchant bank: In banking, a merchant bank is a financial institution
primarily engaged in offering financial services and advice to corporations and
wealthy individuals on how to use their money.
Universal Bank: A universal bank participates in many kinds of banking
activities and is both a Commercial bank and an Investment bank.
Building society: A building society is a financial institution, owned by its
members, that offers banking and other financial services, especially mortgage
lending.

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 Finance house: The Finance House provides customers with the ability to
source Mortgages, Insurance and much more.
Supranational bank: A supranational entity is formed by two or more
central governments to promote economic development for the member
countries. Supranational Institutions finance their activities by issuing bond debt
and are usually considered part of the sub-sovereign debt market. Some well-
known examples of supranational institutions are the World Bank, European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development; European Investment Bank; Asian
Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank.
A demand deposit account, or checking account, is offered to customers
who desire to write checks against their account.
A savings account is the passbook savings account, which does not permit
check writing. Passbook savings accounts continue to attract savers with a small
amount of funds, as such accounts often have no required minimum balance.
Time deposits are deposits that cannot be withdrawn until a specified
maturity date.
The two most common types of time deposits are certificates of deposit
(CDs) and negotiable certificates of deposit.
Money market deposit accounts (MMDAs) differ from conventional time
deposits in that they do not specify a maturity. From the depositor‘s point of
view, MMDAs are more liquid than retail CDs but offer a lower interest rate.
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is the entity responsible
for the monetary policy of a country or of a group of member states. It is a bank
that can lend money to other banks in times of need. It is the Government's
banker and the bankers' bank ("lender of last resort").
Market risk is the change in net asset value due to changes in underlying
economic factors, such as interest rates, exchange rates, and equity and
commodity prices.
Credit risk is the change in net asset value due to changes in the perceived or
actual ability of counter-parties to meet their contractual obligations.
Operational risk results from costs incurred through mistakes made in
carrying out transactions such as settlement failures, failures to meet regulatory
requirements, and untimely collections.

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 Performance risk encompasses losses resulting from the failure to properly
monitor employees or to use appropriate methods (including model risk).

B. VOCABULARY EXERCISES
Exercise 1: Match up the terms with the definitions:
cash card cash dispenser or ATM credit card home banking
loan mortgage overdraft standing order
direct debit/current account or checking account deposit account or time or
notice account
1. an arrangement by which a customer can withdraw more from a bank
account than has been deposited in it, up to an agreed limit; interest on the
debt is calculated daily
2. a card which guarantees payment for goods and services purchased by the
cardholder, who pays back the bank or finance company at a later date
3. a computerized machine that allows bank customers to withdraw money,
check their balance and so on
4. a fixed sum of money on which interest is paid, lent for a fixed period, and
usually for a specific purpose
5. an instruction to a bank to pay fixed sums of money to certain people or
organization at stated times
6. a loan, usually to buy property, which serves as a security for the loan
7. a plastic card issued to bank customers for use in cash dispensers
8. doing banking transactions by telephone or from one‘s own personal
computer
9. one that generally pays little or no interest, but allows the holder to
withdraw his or her cash without any restrictions
10.one that pays interest, but usually cannot be used for paying cheques or
checks, and on which notice is often required to withdraw money
Write your answer here:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

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 Exercise 2: Match the words with the correct definitions:
1. dispenser A. the remaining amount of money in an account
2. teller B. money paid into a bank
3. cashier C. a record of the financial transactions of a person or business
4. withdrawal D. an amount of money in an account
5. balance E. note to a bank asking it to pay money from your account to a
named person or business
6. deposit F. money in the form of bank notes and coins
7. cheque G. an amount of money deducted from an account
8. credit H. the removal of money from an account
9. debit I. a machine or person who count out money
10. cash J. a container designed to give out money in regulated amounts
11. statement K. a clerk who pays out and receive cash at a bank
Write your answer here:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Exercise 3: Match the verbs with the correct explanations:

Write your answer here:

1. 2. 3. 4.
5. 6. 7. 8.

1. honour A. pass the cheque through the clearing system

2. present B. write a cheque
3. draw C. make two accounts agree
4. clear D. change an account
5. cross E. move around the country
6. reconcile F. draw two lines down the middle of a cheque
7. adjust G. show and ask for payment
8. circulate H. pay

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 C. READING
Read the text below and write short headings for each paragraph:
Types of Bank
1............................................
Banks are businesses that trade in money. They receive and hold deposits,
pay money according to customer‘s instructions, lend money, offer investment
advice, exchange foreign currencies, and so on. They make a profit from the
difference (known as a spread or a margin) between the interest rates they pay to
lenders or depositors and those they charge to borrowers. Banks also create
credit, because the money they lend, from their deposits, is generally spent
(either on goods or services, or to settle debts), and in this way transferred to
another bank account – often by way of a bank transfer or a cheque (check)
rather than the use of notes and coins - from where it can be lent to another
borrower, and so on. When lending money, bankers have to find a balance
between yield and risk, and between liquidity and different maturities.
2.............................................
Banks raise funds for industry on the various financial markets, finance
international trade, issue and underwrite securities, deal with takeover and
mergers, and issue government bonds. They also generally offer stock broking
and portfolio management services to rich corporate and individual client.
Investment banks make their profits from the fees and commissions they charge
for their services.
3...............................................
In some European countries (notably Germany, Switzerland and Austria)
there have always been banks combining deposit and loan banking with share
and bond dealing and investment services, but for much of the 20th century,
American legislation enforced a strict separation between commercial and
investment banks. The Glass-Steagall Act, passed during the Depression in 1934,
prevented commercial banks from underwriting securities. This act was repealed
in 1999. The Japanese equivalent was abolished the previous year, and the
banking industry in Britain was also deregulated in 1990s, and financial
conglomerates now combine the services previously offered by banks,
stockbrokers, and insurance companies.

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 4...............................................
A country‘s minimum interest rate is usually fixed by the central bank. This
is the discount rate, at which the central bank makes secured loans to commercial
banks. Banks lend to blue chip borrowers (very safe large companies) at the base
rate or the prime rate; all other borrowers pay more, depending on their credit
standing (or credit rating, or creditworthiness): the lender‘s estimation of their
present and future solvency. Borrowers can usually get a lower interest rate if the
loan is secured or guaranteed by some kind of asset, known as collateral.
5.................................................
In most financial centers, there are also branches of lots of foreign banks,
largely dong Eurocurrency business, A Eurocurrency is any currency held
outside its country of origin. The first significant Eurocurrency market was for
US dollars in Europe, but the name is now used for foreign currencies held
anywhere in the world (e.g. yen in the US, euros in Japan). Since the US$ is the
world‘s most important trading currency – and because the US for the many
years had a huge trade deficit – there is a market of many billions of Eurodollars,
including the oil-exporting countries‘ ‗petrodollars‘. Although a central bank can
determine the minimum lending rate for its national currency it has no control
over foreign currencies. Furthermore, banks are not obliged to deposit any of
their Eurocurrency assets at 0% interest with the central bank, which means that
they can usually offer better rates to borrowers and depositors than in the home
country.

C. READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES

1. Summarize the text (in how many words?)

............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................

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2. Find the words or expressions in the text which mean the following
a. to place money in a bank; or money placed in a bank: …………………
b. the money used in countries other than one‘s own: ……………………
c. how much money a loan pays, expressed as a percentage:……………
d. available cash, and how easily other assets can be turned into cash:………
e. the date when a loan becomes repayable: ………………………………
f. to guarantee to buy all the new shares that a company issues, if they
cannot be sold to the public: ……………………………………………….
g. when a company buy or acquires another one: ……………………………
h. when a company combines with another one: ………………………….
i. buying and selling stocks or shares for clients: ……………………………
j. taking care of all a client‘s investments: ………………………………...
k. the ending or relaxing of legal restrictions: ……………………………..
l. a group of companies, operating in different fields, that have joined
together:……………………….
m. a company considered to be without risk: ………………………………
n. ability to pay liabilities when they become due: ……………………….
o. anything that acts as a security or guarantee for a loan: ………………..

3. Match up the verbs and nouns below to make common collocations

charge advice
do bonds
exchange business
issue currencies
make deposits
offer funds
pay interest
raise loans
receive profits
underwrite security issues

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 D. EXERCISES

Exercise 1: This exercise defines the most important kinds of bank. Fill
in the blank the name of each type of bank:
(1)............................................. supervise the banking system; fix the
minimum interest rate; issue bank notes, control the money supply; influence
exchange rates; and act as lender of last resort.
(2)............................................. are businesses that trade in money. They
receive and hold deposits in current account and saving accounts, pay money
according to customer‘s instructions, lend money, and offer investment advice,
foreign exchange facilities and so on. In some countries such as England these
banks have branches in all major towns, in other countries there are smaller
regional banks. Under American law, for example, banks can operate in only one
state. Some countries have banks that were originally confined to a single
industry, e.g. the Credit Agricole in France, but these now usually have a far
wider customer base.
In some European countries, notably Germany, Austria, and Switzerland,
there are (3)............................................. which combine deposit and loan
banking with share and bond dealing, investment advice, etc. yet even universal
banks usually from a subsidiary, known as a (4)............................................., to
lend money – at several per cent over the base lending rate – for hire purchase or
instalment credit, that is, loans to consumers that are repaid in regular, equal
monthly amounts.
In Britain, the USA and Japan, however, there is, or used to be, a strict
separation between commercial banks and banks that do stockbroking or bond
dealing. Thus in Britain, (5)............................................. specialize in raising
funds for industry on the various financial markets, financing international trade,
issuing and underwriting securities, dealing with takeovers and mergers, issuing
government bonds, and so on. They also offer stockbroking and portfolio
management services to rich corporate and individual clients.
(6)............................................. in the USA are similar, but they can only act as
intermediaries offering advisory services, and do not offer loans themselves.
Yet despite the Glass-Steagall Act in the USA, and Article 65, imposed by
the Americans in Japan in 1945, which enforce this separation, the distinction
between commercial and merchant or investment banks has become less clear in
recent years. Deregulations in the US and Britain is leading to the creation of

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―financial supermarkets‖ – conglomerates combining the services previously
offered by stockbrokers, banks, insurance companies, etc.
In Britain there are also (7)............................................. that provide
mortgages, i.e. they lend money to home-buyers on the security of house and
flats, and attract savers by paying higher interest than the banks. The saving and
loan associations in the United States served a similar function, until most of
them went spectacularly bankrupt at the end of the 1980s.
There are also (8)............................................. such as the World Bank or the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which are generally
concerned with economic development.

Exercise 2: Complete the text using these words:

accounts bank loan cheque customers‘
current account debt depositors deposits
lend liabilities liquidity optimize
overdraft salary spread standing order
return transfer wages withdraw

Commercial banks are businesses that trade in money. They receive and hold
(1).............................., pay money according to (2)..............................
instructions, (3).............................. money etc.
There are still many people in Britain who do not have bank
(4)............................... Traditionally, factory workers were paid
(5).............................. in cash on Fridays. Non-manual workers, however, usually
receive a monthly (6).............................. in the form of cheque or a
(7).............................. paid directly into their bank account.
A (8).............................. usually pays little or no interest, but allows the
holder to (9).............................. his or her cash with no restrictions. Deposit
accounts pay interest. They do not usually provide (10)..............................
facilities, and notice is often required to withdraw money. (11)..............................
and direct debits are ways of paying regular bills at regular intervals.
Banks offer both loans and overdrafts. A (12).............................. is a fixed
sum of money, lent for a fixed period, on which interest is paid, bank usually

135
require some form of security or guarantee before lending. An
(13).............................. is an arrangement by which a customer can overdraw an
account, i.e. run up a debt to an agreed limit; interest on the
(14).............................. is calculated daily.
Banks make a profit from the (15).............................. or differential between
the interest rates they pay on deposits and those they charge on loans. They are
also able to lend more money than they receive in deposits because
(16).............................. rarely withdraw all their money at the same time. In order
to (17).............................. the return on their assets (loans), bankers have to find a
balance between yield and risk, and (18).............................. and different
maturities, and to match these with their (19).............................. (Deposits). The
maturity of a loan is how long it will last; the yield of the loan is its annual
(20).............................. – how much money it pays – expressed as a percentage.
Exercise 3: Put the correct prepositions to complete each sentence:
1. A cheque is simply an order to your bank to pay money .......................
your account ....................... someone else‘s.
2. A customer can pay ....................... cheque ....................... goods and
services.
3. With a bank card, the customer‘s bank guarantees payment ................a
limit, say $500.
4. When an account holder pays a cheque ....................... her bank, the bank
credits the amount of the cheque ....................... her account and sends the
cheque to be presented ....................... the drawer‘s bank.
5. In Britain the clearing system is operated ....................... the Clearing
House in London.
6. The Clearing House adds up the total each bank owes to each other bank
and reconciles the difference ....................... the bank‘s accounts
....................... the Bank of England.
7. This process, from the time when the payee pays the cheque .......................
her bank until the cheque is debited ....................... the drawer‘s bank
account, takes three days.

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E.EXTENTION ACTIVITIES
1. Which banking services have you ultized?
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………….…………

2. What services do commercial banks offer in your country?

…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………..………
3. Discuss the impact of technology on banking services.
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………..…

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 4. Have you experienced digital banking services?
Pros and cons of non-cash payments
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………

F. ESSAY WRITING

Essay Topic:
―Vietnamese banks have recently recorded strong growth thanks to retail
banking and financial services.‖

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the statement. Support your
view by your own knowledge and experience.
Write at least 300 words.

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 Unit 10
PAYMENT METHODS IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE

A. TERMS, DEFINITIONS, AND THEORIES

International trade: Purchase, sale, or exchange of goods and services
across national borders.
International payment: the transmission of some commonly accepted liquid
asset in exchange for goods, services, or non-liquid assets across national
borders.
Open account: Open account means the exporter ships the goods to the
buyer and just waits till a fixed date as agreed in their contract for payment from
the buyer. Normally, the exporter only accepts open account method of payment
if he has known the buyer quite well and they have established a long-term and
trustworthy business relationship.
Documentary letter of credit: A document issued by a bank, whereby the
bank replaces the buyer as the paying party. The exporter is basing his risk of
getting paid on the bank rather than on the importer. The bank will have to be
reimbursed by the importer.
Types of Letter of credit
Revocable letter of credit: A letter of credit that may be canceled at any
moment without prior notice to the beneficiary
Irrevocable letter of credit: A letter of credit that cannot be canceled nor
amended without agreement of all parties
Deferred payment letter of credit: A letter of credit under which the
documents are forwarded to the importer‘s bank, while sight draft is presented at
a latter future date
Red clause letter of credit: A letter of credit permitting the beneficiary to
receive a sum prior to shipment

139
 Transferable letter of credit: A letter of credit that can be utilized by
someone designated by the original beneficiary
Revolving letter of credit: A letter of credit calling for renewed credit to be
made available when the issuing bank informs the beneficiary that the buyer has
reimbursed the issuing bank for the drafts already drawn
Back to back letter of credit: Two letter of credit with identical
documentary requirements, except for the difference in the price as shown by the
invoice and draft.
Standby letter of credit: A letter of credit that can be drawn against, but
only if another business transaction is not performed.
Advised letter of credit: A letter of credit issued by a bank and forwarded to
the beneficiary by a second bank in his area. The second bank validates the
signatures and attests to the legitimacy of the first bank.
Confirmed letter of credit: A letter of credit issued by one bank to which a
second bank adds its commitment to pay.
Usance draft (Time draft): A draft that has been drawn to be payable after a
specific number of days.
Banker’s acceptance: A usance draft drawn on a bank that stamp
ACCEPTED across the face, thereby making it a prime obligation of that bank to
pay. It is used to finance specified short-term, self-liquidating transaction,
including foreign trade.
Bills for collection: A negotiation instrument, drawn by a company or
individual, that is presented to the drawee bank for payment.
Clean collection: A negotiable instrument presented for collection with no
document attached.
Documentary collection: A collection item with title documents that
accompany the draft. The documents are released to the drawee, upon payment of
the draft.
Advance payment: the payment method that the buyer agrees to make
payment of whole grand values or part of values to the seller before sending the
cargo.

140
 B. VOCABULARY
Match these terms with their definitions.
1. invoice
2. clean collection
3. documentary
collection
4. bill of exchange
5. bill of lading
6. document of title
7. issuing bank
8. collecting bank
9. confirming bank
10. letter of credit
Write your answer here:
1. 2.
6. 7.
(a) document that shows details of goods being
transported; it entitles the receiver to collect the
goods on arrival
(b) list of goods sold as a request for payment
(c) bank that issues a letter of credit (i.e. the
importer‘s bank)
(d) bank that receives payment of bills, etc. for their
customer‘s account (i.e. the exporter‘s bank)
(e) document allowing someone to claim ownership
of goods
(f) payment by bill of exchange to which
documents are not attached
(g) signed document that orders a person or
organization to pay a fixed sum of money on
demand or on a specified date
(h) bank that confirms they will pay the exporter on
evidence of shipment of goods
(y) method of financing overseas trade where
payment is made by a bank in return for
delivery of commercial documents, provided
that the terms and conditions of the contract are
met
(k) payment by bill of exchange to which
commercial documents (and sometimes a
document of title) are attached
3. 4. 5.
8. 9. 10.
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 C. READING
Reading 1
Before you read
Discuss these questions.
1. What are some of the risks involved in international trading?
2. What payment methods do you know that are used when exporting or
importing goods? (what are payment methods that can be used in
international trade?)
3. What are advantages and disadvantages of different methods of payments
for an exporter/importer?
4. Discuss the uncertainty of foreign currency transactions.
5. What is the role of the banks in international trade?
Open Account
The goods, and relevant documents, are sent by the exporter directly to the
overseas buyer, who will have agreed to remit payment of the invoice back to the
exporter upon arrival of the documents or within a certain period after the invoice
date. The exporter loses all control of the goods, trusting that payment will be
made by the importer in accordance with the original sales contract.
Documentary Credit
Documentary Credit is often referred to as a Letter of Credit. This is an
undertaking issued by an overseas bank to a UK exporter through a bank in the
UK, to pay for the goods provided that the exporter complies fully with the
conditions established by the Documentary Credit.
Additional security can be obtained by obtaining the ‗confirmation‘ of a UK
bank1 to the transaction, thereby transferring the responsibility from the
importer‘s bank overseas to a more familiar bank in the country of the exporter.
Very few risks arise for the exporter because the potential problem areas of the
buyer risk and country risk can be eliminated. However, the exporter must present
the correct documents and comply fully with the terms and conditions of the credit.
Failure to do so could result in the exporter losing the protection of the credit.

142
 Bills for Collection
Trade collections are initiated when an exporter draws a bill of exchange on
an overseas buyer. This is forwarded by the exporter‘s bank in the importer‘s
country.
Such collections may be either ‗documentary‘ or ‗clean‘2. A documentary
collection is one in which the commercial documents and, if appropriate, the
documents of title to the goods are enclosed with the bill of exchange. These are
sent by the exporter‘s bank to a bank in the importer‘s country together with
instructions to release the documentation against either payment or acceptance of
the bill.
The risks that the exporter has to face are that the importer fails to accept the
bill of exchange or dishonours an accepted bill3 upon maturity. This means that
the exporter may have to consider shipping the goods back to the UK, finding an
alternative buyer or even abandoning the consignment, all of which could be
expensive.
In many areas of the world it is common practice to defer presentation4,
payment or acceptance until arrival of the carrying vessel. Collection and
remittance charges can also be relatively high.
If the exporter retains control over the goods by remitting a full set of Bills of
Lading5 through the intermediary of the banking system, control of the goods
will be handed over to the importer only against payment or acceptance of the
bill by the importer. If the documents are released against the importer‘s
acceptance of the bill, control of the goods is lost and the accepted bill of
exchange may be dishonoured at maturity.
Advance Payment
Exporters receive payment from an overseas buyer in full, or in part, before
the goods are dispatched. This means that the exporter has no risks associated
with non-payment.
1. This bank is then known as the confirming bank.
2. Clean means that no documents are involved.
3. The importer does not pay, although he had previously agreed to pay.
4. This means to delay passing the bill to the importer.
5. This means sending all the necessary shipping documents.

143
 READING COMPREHENSION TASKS
Understanding main points
Read the above text about payment methods for exporters and write the four
methods in the correct positions according to their risks for the exporter.
Least secure Payment method: 1. ……………. open account...……
2. ………………………………..…
3. …………………………….….…
Most secure
4. …………………………….….…
……
Understanding details
Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the
text. Find the part of the text that gives the correct information.
Open Account
1. The importer pays for the goods after receiving the documents.
2. There is no contract involved.
3. The exporter must be able to trust the buyer.
Documentary Credit
4. If a letter of credit is issued, the importer‘s bank agrees to pay for the
goods without conditions.
5. If a letter of credit is confirmed, the exporter‘s bank takes responsibility
for payment.
Bills for Collection
6. Commercial documents and the document of title are always enclosed
with a bill of exchange.
7. Importers may not accept the bill of exchange until the goods arrive.
8. Exporters can keep control of goods by sending bills of lading through the
banking system.
9. Exporters reduce risk if documents are released against acceptance of the
bill rather than payment.
Advance Payment
10. This means that the importer has to pay before any goods are dispatched.

144
 Word search
Find a word or phrase in the text that has a similar meaning.
1. promise or guarantee given to or by a bank
u…………………..
2. load of goods sent to a customer
c……………………
3. person or company that acts as a middleman in a transaction
i……………………
4. date when a bill of exchange is due for payment
m………………………

Reading 2: How a letter of credit works

1. Read about the first four steps in a transaction involving a letter of
credit, and number the steps 1 to 4, using the diagram below to help you.
a. The advising bank authenticates the letter of credit and sends the
beneficiary (the seller) the details. The seller examines the details of the
letter of credit to make sure that he or she can meet all the conditions. If
necessary, he or she contacts the buyer and asks for amendments to be
made.
b. The applicant (the buyer) completes a contract with the seller.
c. The issuing bank (the buyer‘s bank) approves the application and sends the
letter of credit details to the seller‘s bank (the advising bank).
d. The buyer fills in a letter of credit application form and sends it to his or
her bank for approval.

145
 2. Now read about the next six steps, and number them 5 to 10 using the
diagram below.
e. If the documents are in order, the advising bank sends them to the issuing
bank for payment or acceptance. If the details are not correct, the advising
bank tells the seller and waits for corrected documents or further
instructions.
f. The advising/confirming bank pays the seller and notifies him or her that
the payment has been made.
g. The issuing bank advises the advising (or confirming) bank that the
payment has been made.
h. The issuing bank (the buyer‘s bank) examines the documents from the
advising bank. If they are in order, the bank releases the documents to the
buyer, pays the money promised or agrees to pay it in the future, and
advises the buyer about the payment. (If the details are not correct, the
issuing bank contacts the buyer for authorization to pay or accept the
documents.) The buyer collects the goods.
i. The seller presents the documents to his or her bankers (the advising bank).
The advising bank examines these documents against the details of the
letter of credit and the International Chamber of Commerce rules.
k. When the seller (beneficiary) is satisfied with the conditions of the letter of
credit, he or she ships the goods.

146
 D. EXERCISES
Exercise 1: Information search
Match the risks (a-g) with the payment methods.
a) Exporters must comply with the conditions of the credit documents.
b) Importers may delay payment.
c) Importers may not pay at all.
d) It takes a long time to process payment in some countries.
e) Importers may not accept the bill of exchange.
f) Bank charges may be high.
g) Exporters must take care to present the correct document.

1. Open account
2. Documentary credit
3. Bills for collection
4. Advance payment

Write your answer here:

1. 2. 3. 4.

Exercise 2: Complete the sentence

Use an appropriate form of the words in the box to complete the sentences
which describe the procedure for documentary collection.
draw accept dishonour release remit forward dispatch present
present

1. The first step the exporter takes is to ask his bank to ………….. a bill of
exchange on the overseas buyer.
2. The exporter‘s bank ………………. the bill of exchange, together with the
commercial documents, to the importer‘s bank.
3. At the same time, the exporter…………………. the goods.
4. The exporter must take care to ………………….the correct documents to
the bank.

147
 5. When the importer……the bill of exchange, the bank will………….the
documents of title to the goods.
6. If the importer…………………..the bill, the exporter may have to find an
alternative buyer or ship the goods back again.
7. In some parts of the world, banks may be slow to …………….. payment to
the exporter‘s bank.

E. EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
1. The above reading describes the risks of each payment method from the
exporter‘s point of view. What are the risks for the importer? Which
methods will be secure and why?
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………
2. Imagine you are a banker talking to one of your customers who has never
exported before. Explain how documentary credit works.
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………….……………………………
3. Recommendations to deal with uncertainty/risk in international trade
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………

148
 Revision
If you work at a bank‘s international banking department and each of the
following statements has been made by a customer, explain the type of letter of
credit you would recommend. Write down the words or clause you would insert
in a letter of credit to make your suggestion effective.
1. ―My purchasing manager is going to Japan to buy dinner sets from a
number of manufactures, each of whom will want a letter of credit. I want
him to take one letter of credit with him for this.
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
2. Our company‘s overseas purchasing manager live in Brazil. I need to get
money to him so he can purchase coffee from inland growers and then ship
it on a letter of credit.
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
3. I have a contract to purchase sugar from Haiti over the next six months. I
know my credit line is only for $50,000, but how can I get a letter of credit
for the entire shipment of $200,000?
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………….………………………………………..……
4. The buyer of my motorcycles needs six months before he can pay me. I
can‘t wait that long for my money, but I want to make this sale.
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………

149
 5. I just received this letter of credit from Jamaica. Is the bank good? How do
I know I‘ll get paid?
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………
6. I am the agent for New York‘s largest department store. It wants to buy
furs from Russia, but it doesn‘t want the Russian to know it is buying, so I
will make the purchase in my name. The Russians want a letter of credit.
The complete order is $1,000,000. What do I do?
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………….…

F. ESSAY WRITING
Essay Topic :
Open account is one of the methods of payment in international trade. What
are advantages and disadvantages of open account?
Support your view by your own knowledge and experience.
Write at least 300 words.

150
 COMPILED FROM

Business School – University of Bedfordshire (2008) Core Program – Level

2, Pearson Custom Publishing
Emmerson, P. (2007) Business English Handbook: Advanced, Macmillan
Frendo, E. & Mahoney, S (2007) English for Accounting – Express Series,
Oxford University Press
Johnson, C. (2000) Banking and Finance – Business English, Longman.
MacKenzie, I. (2002) English for Business Studies: A Course for Business
Studies and Economics Students, Cambridge University Press.
Mackenzie, I. (1997) Financial English, Thompson, Heinle
Mackenzie, I. (2008) English for the Financial Sector Learning, Cambridge
University Press.
Sweeney, S. (2002) Test Your Professional English: Management, Penguin
Melicher, R. & Norton, E. (2017). Introduction to Finance: Market,
Investments and Financial Management. 16th Edition. Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Mishkin, F. (2019). The economics of money, banking, and financial markets.
12th Edition. Pearson

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