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A currency swap (or a cross currency swap) is a foreign exchange derivative between two institutions to exchange the principal and/or interest payments of a loan in one currency for equivalent amounts, in net present value terms, in another currency. Currency swaps are motivated by comparative advantage.〔http://www.finpipe.com/currswaps.htm〕 A currency swap should be distinguished from interest rate swap, for in currency swap, both principal and interest of loan is exchanged from one party to another party for mutual benefits.〔http://chicagofed.org/webpages/publications/understanding_derivatives/index.cfm〕〔 Currency swaps are over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. ==Structure== There are three different ways in which currency swaps can exchange loans: # The simplest currency swap structure is to exchange only the principal with the counterparty at a specified point in the future at a rate agreed now. Such an agreement performs a function equivalent to a forward or futures contract. The cost of finding a counterparty (either directly or through an intermediary), and drawing up an agreement with them, makes swaps more expensive than alternative derivatives (and thus rarely used) as a method to fix shorter term forward exchange rates. However, for a longer term future, commonly up to 10 years, where spreads are wider for alternative derivatives, principal-only currency swaps are often used as a cost-effective way to fix forward rates. This type of currency swap is also known as an FX-swap.〔 〕 # Another currency swap structure is to combine the exchange of loan principal, as above, with an interest rate swap. In such a swap, interest cash flows are not netted before they are paid to the counterparty (as they would be in a vanilla interest rate swap) because they are denominated in different currencies. As each party effectively borrows on the other's behalf, this type of swap is also known as a back-to-back loan.〔 # Last here, but certainly not least important, is to swap only interest payment cash flows on loans of the same size and term. Again, as this is a currency swap, the exchanged cash flows are in different denominations and so are not netted. An example of such a swap is the exchange of fixed-rate US dollar interest payments for floating-rate interest payments in Euro. This type of swap is also known as a cross-currency interest rate swap, or cross currency swap.〔http://www.isda.org/educat/faqs.html#22〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Currency swap」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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