Alternative definitions of the year’s buzzwords
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| Glossary | |
|---|---|
| Anbang | Noise made by an inflated acquisition bid shortly before it disappears |
| Anchor investor | Lead manager |
| Asia strategy | Retreat |
| AT1 | The riskiest kind of bank capital notes except in Asia, where they are safer than European senior bonds |
| Bakeoff | A process in which participants compete for a title, but sometimes end up with burnt fingers and a soggy bottom |
| Basic law | Internationally recognised, centuries-old legal framework that occasionally needs interpretation from Beijing |
| Benchmark size | At least US$500m. On a bad day, US$300m. If it’s Chinese high-yield, about US$100m |
| Black money | What happens to a rupee banknote when it gets hidden under a dirty mattress |
| Brexit | Brexit means Brexit (see Brexit) |
| Business class | Available as an upgrade at traveller’s expense |
| Circuit breaker | Mechanism designed to give Chinese equity traders the afternoon off |
| Cornerstone | Universally hated feature of any Hong Kong IPO. Unless you’re involved, in which case an essential part of ‘de-risking’ |
| Crowdfunding | Way to sell risky Singapore bonds without getting banks in trouble |
| Default | Event occurring when a Singapore high-yield bond nears maturity |
| Fee | In Chinese IPOs, a commission that may be paid after 6–12 months, if you ask nicely |
| Fintech | What awaits bankers after gardening leave |
| Fixed-for-life | Perpetual investment option for supposedly sophisticated investors who believe rates will never, ever go up |
| Green bonds | Notes sold by an issuer that has installed a bicycle rack at its head office |
| IPO | Investing Plenty Overseas |
| Lead order | Deposit paid in advance of an underwriting fee |
| Lending velocity | Time taken to flip a syndicated loan to a Taiwanese bank |
| Leveraged loan | Borrowing money from western banks |
| LGFV | Marketing term used to help loss-making, overleveraged Chinese funding vehicles sell bonds overseas |
| Localist | Opponent of globalisation. And of China |
| Lock-up period | Whatever Morgan Stanley says it is |
| Masala bond | Nice and spicy Indian dish, but one that leaves a strong aftertaste |
| National security | Excuse used not to sell something to China |
| Necktie | (Australian) Compulsory attire for all Credit Suisse investment bankers, including analysts working at 1am |
| Negative rates | Central bank tool to lower bank profits and pump up stock markets |
| NIRP | Japanese expletive |
| NPL | In China, ideal collateral for a securitisation |
| Offsite | Going upstairs for a video conference |
| Panda (verb) | To beg for permission to sell bonds in China |
| Pollster | Anyone paid to predict something that won’t happen |
| Princeling | |
| Overpaid photocopier | |
| Share of wallet | #DIV/0! |
| Socially responsible bonds | Notes sold by an issuer that was too tight to pay for green certification |
| Special drawing rights | A lucky dip in which Chinese institutions learn how many SDR bonds they have been ordered to buy |
| Special mention loans | Definitely not NPLs |
| Sponsor | Defendant |
| Stabilisation agent | Modern day equivalent of Sisyphus and the rock |
| Syndicated loan | Borrowing money from more than one Chinese or Japanese bank |
| TLAC | A strategy to make senior bonds more confusing |
| Trump (verb) | 1. To break wind. |
| 2. To outrank or defeat. | |
| 3. To blow up bond markets | |
| Wanda (verb) | To go shopping, especially in Hollywood |
| A high-tech Chinese system for placing bond orders | |
| X orders | A way to make bookrunners cross |
| Yield | A return paid by issuers to bond investors, or sometimes vice versa |
| Yield curve control | Attempt to reverse previous course without coming off the rails |