Short-term financing (2024)

A very important distinction must be drawn between the short-term capital that flows in the normal course of industrial and commercial development and that which flows because of exchange-rate movements. The first class of short-term capital may be thought of as going in…

Commercial banks and other corporations involved in dealings across currency frontiers are usually able to see some (but not necessarily all) of their needs in advance. Their foreign exchange experts will watch the course of the exchanges closely and, if a currency…

The main sources of short-term financing are (1) trade credit, (2) commercial bank loans, (3) commercial paper, a specific type of promissory note, and (4) secured loans.

…guarantees (principally to commercial banks), short-term and medium-term loans, credit insurance, financing for the purchase of aircraft, and financing for environmental, nuclear, and other special projects. Most bank assistance has consisted of direct financing to buyers abroad of American goods and services. This assistance has taken the form of long-term…

…is often called short-term or floating debt and may take several forms: notes, with maturities from one to five years; treasury bills, with maturities from one month to a year and often sold at auction; and certificates of indebtedness, with similar maturity periods but available at a fixed interest rate.

…are customarily carried out with short-term government securities (in the United States, frequently Treasury bills). Observers disagree on the advisability of such a policy. Supporters believe that dealing in both short-term and long-term securities would distort the interest-rate structure and therefore the allocation of credit. Opponents believe that this would…