MAROCLEAR Glossary: Key Terms in Finance and Securities Management

The Classification of Financial Instruments (CFI) code or ISO 10962 is the standard developed by the international standards organization ISO to define and describe financial instruments around the world. It can be used as a series of uniform codes by all financial market participants.

Value on which interest is calculated for a bond. It corresponds to the nominal value of the bond reduced by the fraction of the nominal value repaid for each bond of a constant amortization loan.

Fraction of the capital of a publicly owned company.

Trading and listing of a financial security at a breakeven price. This type of quotation, which is opposed to continuous quotation, is suitable for small order processing or for less liquid securities.

Financial instruments are securities or contracts, some of which are negotiable, notably on exchanges, some used exclusively to anticipate a return or a financial or monetary risk.

The financial market, like any market, is a place of exchange between buyers and sellers. As in any market, the selling and buying prices are determined by the level of supply and demand. This exchange concerns financial products or instruments.

Procedure for IPO by fixing the quantity and the single price of securities to be sold.

A financial security is characterized by a series of future cash flows that are more or less risky. There is a distinction between equity securities (shares), debt securities (bonds, commercial paper, deposit certificates, treasury bills...) and option or contingent securities (options).

Refers to authorized financial intermediaries (banks and brokerage firms). Among the depositary affiliates, a distinction is made between full-time affiliates and mandated affiliates.