Glossary

A B C D E F G H I L M N O P R S T V

BASIS POINT: One hundred basis points equal one percent. One basis point is 0.01%
BEARER SECURITIES: Securities that are not registered to any particular party on the books of the issuing company and hence are payable to the party that is in possession of them.
BENEFICIAL OWNER: A party that is entitled to the rights of ownership of property. In the context of securities, the term is usually used to distinguish this party from the registered holder (a nominee for example) that holds the securities for the beneficial owner.
BENEFIT: Any entitlement due to a stock or shareholder as a result of purchasing or holding securities, including the right to any dividend, rights issue, scrip issue etc. made by the issuer. In the case of loaned securities or collateral, benefits are passed back to the lender or borrower (as appropriate), usually by way of a manufactured dividend or the return of equivalent securities or collateral.
BMA: The Bond Market Association is a U.S.-based industry organisation of participants involved in certain sectors of the bond markets. The BMA establishes non-binding standards of business conduct in the US fixed income securities markets. Formerly known as the Public Securities Association or PSA.
BOND REPO: The transaction whereby one party sells securities (e.g. Government Bonds) to another, agreeing to repurchase (Repo) the securities at a future date at a pre-agreed price. Repo usually refers to Bond Repo, but this transaction type is increasingly used with other marketable securities too, as evidenced above.
BUY-IN: The practice whereby a lender of securities enters the open market to buy securities in order to replace those that have not been returned by a borrower. Strict market practices govern the buy-in process.
BUY/SELL-SELL/BUY: Types of bond transactions that, in economic substance, replicate reverse repos and repos, respectively. These transactions consist of a purchase (or sale) of a security versus cash with a forward commitment to sell back (or buy back) the securities. Used as an alternative to repos/reverses. These transactions are often undocumented, for a set duration and the transaction structure does not allow for variation margining.