Dictionary of Banking and Finance

Pronunciation Guide
The following symbols have been used to show the pronunciation of the main
words in the dictionary.
Stress is indicated by a main stress mark (  ) and a secondary stress mark (  ). Note
that these are only guides, as the stress of the word changes according to its position
in the sentence.
Vowels Consonants
back b buck
ɑ harm d dead
ɒ stop ðother
a type d jump
aυ how f fare
aə hire  gold
aυə hour h head
ɔ course j yellow
ɔ annoy k cab
ehead l leave
eə fair m mix
e make n nil
eυ go ŋ sing
 word p print
i keep r rest
i happy s save
ə about ʃ shop
 fit t take
ə near tʃ change
u annual θ theft
u pool v value
υ book w work
υə tour x loch
 shut  measure
z zone
A
A
/
sŋ(ə)l e
/,AA/
db(ə)l e
/,
AAA /
trp(ə)l e
/
noun
letters that
show how reliable a particular share,
bond or company is considered to be
ć
These bonds have a AAA rating.
‘…the rating concern lowered its rating to
single-A from double-A, and its senior debt
rating to triple-B from single-A’ [Wall Street
Journal]
COMMENT
: The AAA rating is given by
Standard & Poor’s or by Moody’s, and in-
dicates a very high level of reliability for a
corporate or municipal bond in the US
A1
/
e wɒn
/
adjective
˽
ship which is
A1 at Lloyd’s a ship which is in the best
possible condition according to Lloyd’s
Register
AAD
abbreviation
Arab accounting
dinar
ABA
abbreviation
American Bankers
Association
abandonment
/
əbndənmənt
/
noun
an act of giving up voluntarily
something that you own, such as an op-
tion or the right to a property
abatement
/
əbetmənt
/
noun
an act
of reducing
ABA transit number
/
e bi e
trnzt nmbə
/
noun
a number allo-
cated to an American financial institu-
tion, such as a bank
(
NOTE
: The number
appears on US cheques in the top
right-hand corner, above the ‘check
routing symbol’.)
ABI
abbreviation
Association of British
Insurers
above par
/
əbv pɑ
/
adjective
re-
ferring to a share with a market price
higher than its par value
above the line
/
əbv ðə lan
/
ad-
jective
,
adverb
1.
COMPANIES
forming
part of normal income and expenditure
before tax
ć
Exceptional items are
noted above the line in company ac
-
counts.
2.
relating to revenue items in a
government budget
3.
ADVERTISING
re-
lating to advertising for which payment
is made (such as an ad in a magazine or
a stand at a trade fair) and for which a
commission is paid to an advertising
agency. Compare
below the line
absolute
/
bsəlut
/
adjective
com-
plete or total
absolute monopoly
/
bsəlut mə-
nɒpəli
/
noun
a situation where only
one producer produces or only one sup-
plier supplies something
ć
The com-
pany has an absolute monopoly of
imports of French wine.
ć
The sup-
plier’s absolute monopoly of the prod-
uct meant that customers had to accept
his terms.
absolute title
/
bsəlut tat(ə)l
/
noun
a form of ownership of a piece
of land in which the owner’s right is
guaranteed by being registered with the
Land Registry
(
NOTE
: Absolute title
also exists to leasehold land, giving
the proprietor a guaranteed valid
lease.)
absorb
/
əbzɔb
/
verb
to take in a
small item so that it forms part of a
larger one
˽
overheads have absorbed
all our profits all our profits have gone
in paying overhead expenses
˽
to ab-
sorb a loss by a subsidiary to include a
subsidiary company’s loss in the group
accounts
˽
a business which has been
absorbed by a competitor a small busi-
ness which has been made part of a
larger one
absorption
/
əbzɔpʃən
/
noun
the
process of making a smaller business
part of a larger one, so that the smaller
company in effect no longer exists
absorption costing
/
əbzɔpʃən
kɒstŋ
/
noun
a form of costing for a
product that includes both the direct
costs of production and the indirect
overhead costs as well
absorption rate
/
əbzɔpʃən ret
/
noun
a rate at which overhead costs are
absorbed into each unit of production
abstract
/
bstrkt
/
noun
a short
form of a report or document
ć
to make
an abstract of the company accounts
a/c
, acc
abbreviation
account
accelerate
/
əkseləret
/
verb
1.
to
make something go faster
2.
to reduce
the amount of time before a maturity
date
accelerated depreciation
/
ək-
seləretd dpriʃeʃ(ə)n
/
noun
a
system of depreciation which reduces
the value of assets at a high rate in the
early years to encourage companies, as a
result of tax advantages, to invest in new
equipment
COMMENT
: This applied in the UK until
1984; until then companies could depreci-
ate new equipment at 100% in the first
year of purchase.
acceleration
/
əkseləreʃ(ə)n
/
noun
the act of making an unpaid balance or
bond repayment become payable
immediately
accept
/
əksept
/
verb
1.
to take some-
thing which is being offered
˽
to accept
delivery of a shipment to take goods
into the warehouse officially when they
are delivered
2.
to say ‘yes’ or to agree
to something
ć
She accepted the offer of
a job in Australia.
ć
He accepted £2000
in lieu of notice.
ć
60% of shareholders
have accepted the offer.
acceptable
/
əkseptəb(ə)l
/
adjective
which can be accepted
ć
Both parties
found the offer acceptable.
ć
The terms
of the contract of employment are not
acceptable to the candidate.
ć
The offer
is not acceptable to the shareholders.
acceptance
/
əkseptəns
/
noun
1.
the
act of signing a bill of exchange to show
that you agree to pay it
˽
to present a
bill for acceptance to present a bill for
payment by the person who has ac-
cepted it
2.
˽
acceptance of an offer
the act of agreeing to an offer
˽
to give
an offer a conditional acceptance to
accept an offer provided that specific
things happen or that specific terms ap-
ply
˽
we have their letter of accep-
tance we have received a letter from
them accepting the offer
3.
a bill which
has been accepted
4.
the act of accepting
an offer of new shares for which you
have applied
acceptance credit
/
əkseptəns
kredt
/
noun
an arrangement of credit
from a bank, where the bank accepts
bills of exchange drawn on the bank by
the debtor: the bank then discounts the
bills and is responsible for paying them
when they mature; the debtor owes the
bank for the bills but these are covered
by letters of credit
acceptance sampling
/
əkseptəns
sɑmplŋ
/
noun
the process of testing a
small sample of a batch to see if the
whole batch is good enough to be
accepted
accepting house
/
əkseptŋ haυs
/,
acceptance house /
əkseptəns haυs
/
noun
a firm (usually a merchant bank)
which accepts bills of exchange (i.e.
promises to pay them) at a discount, in
return for immediate payment to the is-
suer, in this case the Bank of England
Accepting Houses Committee
/
əkseptŋ haυzz kəmti
/
noun
the
main London merchant banks, which or-
ganise the lending of money with the
Bank of England. They receive slightly
better discount rates from the Bank.
acceptor
/
əkseptə
/
noun
a person
who accepts a bill of exchange by sign-
ing it, thus making a commitment to pay
it by a specified date
access
/
kses
/
noun
˽
to have ac-
cess to something to be able to obtain
or reach something
ć
She has access to
large amounts of venture capital.
í
verb
to call up data which is stored in a com-
puter
ć
She accessed the address file on
the computer.
Access
/
kses
/
a credit card system
formerly operated by some British
banks, part of the MasterCard network
access fee
/
kses fi
/
noun
a fee
charged to bank customers for using on-
line services
access time
/
kses tam
/
noun
the
time taken by a computer to find data
stored in it
accident insurance
/
ksd(ə)nt
nʃυərəns
/
noun
insurance which will
pay the insured person when an accident
takes place
accident policy
/
ksd(ə)nt
pɒlsi
/
noun
an insurance contract
absorption rate 2 accident policy
which provides a person with accident
insurance
accommodation
/
əkɒmədeʃ(ə)n
/
noun
1.
money lent for a short time
2.
˽
to reach an accommodation with
creditors to agree terms for settlement
with creditors
accommodation address
/
ə-
kɒmədeʃ(ə)n ədres
/
noun
an ad-
dress used for receiving messages, but
which is not the real address of the
company
accommodation bill
/
əkɒmə-
deʃ(ə)n bl
/
noun
a bill of exchange
where the person signing (the ‘drawee’)
is helping another company (the
‘drawer’) to raise a loan
accordance
/
əkɔdns
/
noun
˽
in
accordance with in agreement or
conformity with, as a result of what
someone has said should be done
ć
In
accordance with your instructions we
have deposited the money in your cur-
rent account.
ć
I am submitting the
claim for damages in accordance with
the advice of our legal advisers.
accord and satisfaction
/
əkɔd
ən stsfkʃən
/
noun
the payment by
a debtor of (part of) a debt
accordingly
/
əkɔdŋli
/
adverb
in
agreement with what has been decided
ć
We have received your letter and have
altered the contract accordingly.
according to
/
əkɔdŋ tu
/
preposi-
tion
1.
in accordance with
ć
The com-
puter was installed according to the
manufacturer’s instructions.
ć
The
shares were bought according to written
instructions from the client.
2.
as stated
or shown by someone
‘…the budget targets for employment and
growth are within reach according to the latest
figures’ [Australian Financial Review]
account
/
əkaυnt
/
noun
1.
a record of
financial transactions over a period of
time, such as money paid, received, bor-
rowed or owed
ć
Please send me your
account or a detailed or an itemised ac-
count.
2. (
in a shop
)
an arrangement
which a customer has to buy goods and
pay for them at a later date, usually the
end of the month
ć
to have an account
or a charge account or a credit account
with Harrods
ć
Put it on my account or
charge it to my account.
ć
They are one
of our largest accounts.
˽
to open an
account
(
of a customer
.
)
to ask a shop
to supply goods which you will pay for
at a later date
˽
to open an account, to
close an account
(
of a shop
)
to start or
to stop supplying a customer on credit
˽
to settle an account to pay all the
money owed on an account
˽
to stop an
account to stop supplying a customer
until payment has been made for goods
supplied
3.
˽
on account as part of a to-
tal bill
˽
to pay money on account to
pay to settle part of a bill
˽
advance on
account money paid as a part payment
4.
a customer who does a large amount
of business with a firm and has an ac-
count with it
ć
Smith Brothers is one of
our largest accounts.
ć
Our sales peo-
ple call on their best accounts twice a
month.
5.
˽
to keep the accounts to
write each sum of money in the account
book
ć
The bookkeeper’s job is to enter
all the money received in the accounts.
6.
STOCK EXCHANGE
a period during
which shares are traded for credit, and at
the end of which the shares bought must
be paid for
(
NOTE
: On the London
Stock Exchange, there are twenty-four
accounts during the year, each running
usually for ten working days.) 7.
notice
˽
to take account of inflation, to take
inflation into account to assume that
there will be a specific percentage of in-
flation when making calculations
í
verb
˽
to account for to explain and re-
cord a money transaction
ć
to account
for a loss or a discrepancy
ć
The reps
have to account for all their expenses to
the sales manager.
account aggregation
/
əkaυnt
reeʃ(ə)n
/
noun
a service for on-
line banking customers, which allows
them to group various accounts, includ-
ing credit card accounts, together
accountancy
/
əkaυntənsi
/
noun
the
work of an accountant
ć
They are study-
ing accountancy or They are accoun-
tancy students.
(
NOTE
: The US term is
accounting in this meaning.)
accountant
/
əkaυntənt
/
noun
a per-
son who keeps a company’s accounts or
deals with an individual person’s tax af-
fairs
ć
The chief accountant of a manu-
facturing group.
ć
The accountant has
shown that there is a sharp variance in
our labour costs.
ć
I send all my income
tax queries to my accountant.
accommodation 3 accountant
accountant’s opinion
/
ə
-
kaυntənts əpnjən
/
noun
a report of
the audit of a company’s books, carried
out by a certified public accountant
account book
/
əkaυnt bυk
/
noun
a
book with printed columns which is
used to record sales and purchases
account day
/
əkaυnt de
/
noun
a
day on which shares which have been
bought must be paid for (usually a Mon-
day ten days after the end of an ac-
count). Also called
settlement day
account end
/
əkaυnt end
/
noun
the
end of an accounting period
account executive
/
əkaυnt -
zekjυtv
/
noun
1.
an employee who
looks after customers or who is the link
between customers and the company
2.
an employee of an organisation such
as a bank, public relations firm or
advertising agency who is responsible
for looking after particular clients and
handling their business with the
organisation
accounting
/
əkaυntŋ
/
noun
the
work of recording money paid, re-
ceived, borrowed or owed
ć
accounting
methods
ć
accounting procedures
ć
an
accounting machine
ć
The auditors
have introduced a new accounting
system.
‘…applicants will be professionally qualified
and have a degree in Commerce or Accounting’
[Australian Financial Review]
accounting period
/
əkaυntŋ
pəriəd
/
noun
a period of time at the
end of which the firm’s accounts are
made up
Accounting Standards Board
/
ə-
kaυntŋ stndədz bɔd
/
noun
a
committee set up by British accounting
institutions to monitor methods used in
accounting
account number
/
əkaυnt nmbə
/
noun
a special number given to an
account, either a bank account (in which
case it appears on cheques) or a cus-
tomer account
account reconcilement
/
əkaυnt
rekənsalmənt
/
noun
same as
bank
reconciliation
accounts department
/
əkaυnts
dpɑtmənt
/
noun
a department in a
company which deals with money paid,
received, borrowed or owed
accounts manager
/
əkaυnts
mndə
/
noun
the manager of an ac-
counts department
accounts payable
/
əkaυnts
peəb(ə)l
/
noun
money owed by a
company
accounts receivable
/
əkaυnts r-
sivəb(ə)l
/
noun
money owed to a
company
account statement
/
əkaυnt
stetmənt
/
noun
a written document
from a bank showing the balance of an
account at the end of a period
account trading
/
əkaυnt tredŋ
/
noun
buying shares and selling the same
shares during an account, which means
that the dealer has only to pay the differ-
ence between the price of the shares
bought and the price obtained for them
when they are sold
accrete
/
əkrit
/
verb
to have some-
thing added to it, especially (of a fund)
to have interest added to it
accretion
/
əkriʃ(ə)n
/
noun
the pro-
cess of adding interest to a fund over a
period of time
accrual
/
əkruəl
/
noun
1.
the act of
noting financial transactions when they
take place, and not when payment is
made
2.
a gradual increase by addition
˽
accrual of interest the automatic addi-
tion of interest to capital
accruals basis
/
əkruəlz bess
/,
accruals concept /
əkruəlz
kɒnsept
/
noun
a method of preparing
accounts in which revenues and costs
are both reported during the period to
which they refer and not during the pe-
riod when payments are received or
made
accrue
/
əkru
/
verb
to increase and
be due for payment at a later date
ć
In-
terest accrues from the beginning of the
month.
accrued dividend
/
əkrud dv-
dend
/
noun
a dividend earned since the
last dividend was paid
accrued interest
/
əkrud ntrəst
/
noun
interest which has been earned by
an interest-bearing investment
ć
Ac-
crued interest is added quarterly.
acct
abbreviation
account
accumulate
/
əkjumjυlet
/
verb
to
grow in quantity by being added to, or to
get more of something over a period of
accountant’s opinion 4 accumulate
accumulated depreciation 5 active account
time
ć
We allow dividends to accumu
-
late in the fund.
accumulated depreciation
/
ə-
kjumjυletd dpriʃieʃ(ə)n
/
noun
the total amount by which an asset has
been depreciated since it was purchased
accumulated profit
/
ə-
kjumjυletd prɒft
/
noun
a profit
which is not paid as dividend but is
taken over into the accounts of the fol-
lowing year
accumulated reserves
/
ə-
kjumjυletd rzvz
/
plural noun
reserves which a company has put aside
over a period of years
accumulation
/
əkjumjυleʃ(ə)n
/
noun
the process of growing larger by
being added to, or of getting more and
more of something
accumulation unit
/
əkjumjυ-
leʃ(ə)n junt
/
noun
a type of unit
in a unit trust, which produces dividends
which are used to form more units
(as opposed to an income unit, which
produces dividends which the investor
receives as income)
ACD
abbreviation
authorized corporate
director
ACH
abbreviation US
automated
clearing house
achieve
/
ətʃiv
/
verb
to succeed in
doing something, to do something suc-
cessfully
ć
The company has achieved
great success in the Far East.
ć
We
achieved all our objectives in 2001.
‘…the company expects to move to profits of
FFr 2m next year and achieve equally rapid
growth in following years’ [Financial Times]
acid test ratio
/
sd test reʃəυ
/
noun
same as
liquidity ratio
ACP state
noun
an African, Carib-
bean and Pacific state which is linked to
the European Community through the
Lomé Convention (1985)
acquire
/
əkwaə
/
verb
to buy
ć
to ac-
quire a company
ć
We have acquired a
new office building in the centre of
town.
acquirer
/
əkwaərə
/
noun
a person
or company which buys something
acquisition
/
kwzʃ(ə)n
/
noun
something bought
ć
The chocolate fac-
tory is our latest acquisition.
ć
The
company has a record of making profit
-
able acquisitions of traders in the retail
sector.
acquisition accounting
/
kw-
zʃ(ə)n əkaυntŋ
/
noun
a full
consolidation, where the assets of a
subsidiary company which has been
purchased are included in the parent
company’s balance sheet, and the pre-
mium paid for the goodwill is written
off against the year’s earnings
across-the-board
/
əkrɒs ðə bɔd
/
adjective
applying to everything or ev-
eryone
ć
an across-the-board price in-
crease or wage increase
across-the-board tariff increase
/
əkrɒs ði bɔd trf nkris
/
noun
an increase in duty which applies to a
whole range of items
act
/
kt
/
noun
a law passed by parlia-
ment which must be obeyed by the peo-
ple
í
verb
1.
to work
ć
He has agreed
to act as an agent for an American com-
pany.
ć
The solicitor is acting for us or
on our behalf.
2.
to do something
ć
The
board will have to act quickly if the
company’s losses are going to be re-
duced.
˽
to act on something to do
what you have been asked to do by
someone
ć
to act on a letter
ć
The law-
yers are acting on our instructions.
ACT
abbreviation
Advance Corpora-
tion Tax
action
/
kʃən
/
noun
1.
a thing which
has been done
˽
to take action to do
something
ć
You must take action if you
want to stop people cheating you.
2.
˽
to take industrial action to do some-
thing (usually to go on strike) to show
that you are not happy with conditions
at work
3.
a case in a law court where a
person or company sues another person
or company
˽
to take legal action to
sue someone
ć
an action for libel or a
libel action
ć
an action for damages
ć
She brought an action for wrongful dis-
missal against her former employer.
active
/
ktv
/
adjective
involving
many transactions or activities
ć
an ac-
tive demand for oil shares
ć
an active
day on the Stock Exchange
ć
Computer
shares are very active.
active account
/
ktv əkaυnt
/
noun
an account, such as a bank account
or investment account, which is used
(i.e. money is deposited and withdrawn)
frequently
active partner
/
ktv pɑtnə
/
noun
a partner who works in a company
that is a partnership
activity
/
ktvti
/
noun
the fact of
being active or busy
ć
a low level of
business activity
ć
There was a lot of
activity on the Stock Exchange.
˽
monthly activity report a report by a
department on what has been done dur-
ing the past month
‘…preliminary indications of the level of
business investment and activity during the
March quarter will provide a good picture of
economic activity in the year’
[Australian Financial Review]
activity chart
/
ktvti tʃɑt
/
noun
a plan showing work which has been
done, made so that it can be compared to
a previous plan showing how much
work should be done
act of God
/
kt əv ɒd
/
noun
something you do not expect to happen,
and which cannot be avoided, such as a
storm or a flood
(
NOTE
: Acts of God are
not usually covered by insurance poli-
cies.)
actual
adjective
/
ktʃuəl
/
real or cor-
rect
ć
What is the actual cost of one
unit?
ć
The actual figures for directors’
expenses are not shown to the share-
holders.
í
noun
a physical commodity
which is ready for delivery (as opposed
to futures)
actual price
/
ktʃuəl pras
/
noun
a
price for a commodity which is for im-
mediate delivery
actuals
/
ktʃuəlz
/
plural noun
real
figures
ć
These figures are the actuals
for last year.
actuarial
/
ktʃueəriəl
/
adjective
calculated by an actuary
ć
The premi-
ums are worked out according to actu-
arial calculations.
actuarial tables
/
ktʃueəriəl
teb(ə)lz
/
noun
lists showing how long
people of certain ages are likely to live,
used to calculate life assurance premi-
ums and annuities
actuary
/
ktʃuəri
/
noun
a person
employed by an insurance company or
other organisation to calculate the risk
involved in an insurance, and therefore
the premiums payable by people taking
out insurance
COMMENT
: In the UK, actuaries are quali
-
fied after passing the examinations of the
Institute of Actuaries.
ACU
abbreviation
Asian Currency Unit
adaptable
/
ədptəb(ə)l
/
adjective
able to change or be changed
adaptation
/
dpteʃ(ə)n
/
noun
the process of changing something, or of
being changed, to fit new conditions
ć
adaptation to new surroundings
ADB
abbreviation
1.
African Develop-
ment Bank
2.
Asian Development Bank
add
/
d
/
verb
to put figures together to
make a total
ć
If you add the interest to
the capital you will get quite a large
sum.
ć
Interest is added monthly.
added value
/
dd vlju
/
noun
an
amount added to the value of a product
or service, equal to the difference be-
tween its cost and the amount received
when it is sold. Wages, taxes, etc. are
deducted from the added value to give
the profit.

Value Added Tax
adding machine
/
dŋ məʃin
/
noun
a machine which adds numbers
addition
/
ədʃ(ə)n
/
noun
an act of
putting numbers together
ć
You don’t
need a calculator to do simple addition.
additional
/
ədʃ(ə)nəl
/
adjective
ex-
tra which is added
ć
additional costs
ć
They sent us a list of additional charges.
ć
Some additional clauses were added
to the contract.
ć
Additional duty will
have to be paid.
additional borrowing
/
ə-
dʃ(ə)n(ə)l bɒrəυŋ
/
noun
extra bor-
rowing in addition to money already
borrowed
additional premium
/
ədʃ(ə)nəl
primiəm
/
noun
a payment made to
cover extra items in an existing
insurance
additional voluntary contribu-
tions
/
ədʃ(ə)n(ə)l vɒlənt(ə)ri
kɒntrbjuʃ(ə)nz
/
plural noun
extra
payments made voluntarily by an em-
ployee to a pension scheme (on top of
the normal contributions, up to a maxi-
mum of 15% of gross earnings). Abbre-
viation
AVCs
address
/
ədres
/
noun
the details of
number, street and town where an office
is located or a person lives
ć
My busi-
ness address and phone number are
printed on the card.
í
verb
1.
to write
active partner 6 address
addressee 7 adjustment credit
the details of an address on an envelope
or package
ć
a letter addressed to the
managing director
ć
an incorrectly ad-
dressed package
ć
Please address your
enquiries to the manager.
2.
to say
something to someone
ć
The chairman
addressed the meeting.
addressee
/
dresi
/
noun
a person
to whom a letter or package is addressed
addressing machine
/
ədresŋ mə-
ʃin
/
noun
a machine which puts ad-
dresses on envelopes automatically
address list
/
ədres lst
/
noun
a list
of names and addresses of people and
companies
add up
/
d p
/
verb
1.
to put several
figures together to make a total
ć
He
made a mistake in adding up the column
of figures.
˽
the figures do not add up
the total given is not correct
2.
to make
sense
ć
The complaints in the letter just
do not add up.
add up to
/
d p tυ
/
verb
to make a
total of
ć
The total expenditure adds up
to more than £1,000.
adequacy
/
dkwəsi
/
noun
the fact
of being large enough or good enough
for something
adequate
/
dkwət
/
adjective
large
or good enough
˽
to operate without
adequate cover to act without being
completely protected by insurance
adjudicate
/
ədudket
/
verb
to
give a judgement between two parties in
law or to decide a legal problem
ć
to
adjudicate a claim
ć
to adjudicate in a
dispute
˽
he was adjudicated bank-
rupt he was declared legally bankrupt
adjudication
/
ədudkeʃ(ə)n
/
noun
the act of giving a judgement or of
deciding a legal problem
adjudication of bankruptcy
/
ə-
dudkeʃ(ə)n əv bŋkrptsi
/
noun
a legal order making someone bankrupt
adjudication tribunal
/
ədud-
keʃ(ə)n trabjun(ə)l
/
noun
a group
which adjudicates in industrial disputes
adjudicator
/
ədudketə
/
noun
a
person who gives a decision on a prob-
lem
ć
an adjudicator in an industrial
dispute
adjust
/
ədst
/
verb
to change some-
thing to fit new conditions
ć
Prices are
adjusted for inflation.
‘…inflation-adjusted GNP moved up at a 1.3%
annual rate’ [Fortune]
‘Saudi Arabia will no longer adjust its
production to match short-term supply with
demand’ [Economist]
‘…on a seasonally-adjusted basis, output of
trucks, electric power, steel and paper
decreased’ [Business Week]
adjustable
/
ədstəb(ə)l
/
adjective
which can be adjusted
adjustable peg
/
ədstəb(ə)l pe
/
noun
a method of pegging one currency
to another, which allows the exchange
rate to be adjusted from time to time
adjustable rate mortgage
/
ə-
dstəb(ə)l ret mɔd
/
noun
a
mortgage where the interest rate
changes according to the current market
rates. Abbreviation
ARM
adjustable rate preferred stock
/
ədstəb(ə)l ret prfd stɒk
/
noun
a preference shares on which divi-
dends are paid in line with the interest
rate on Treasury bills. Abbreviation
ARPS
adjusted balance
/
ədstd
bləns
/
noun
a balance in a bank ac-
count which is adjusted to take account
of debits and credits during a period.
This balance can then be used as a basis
for calculating bank charges.
adjusted gross income
/
ədstd
rəυs nkm
/
noun US
a person’s
total annual income less expenses,
pension contributions, capital losses,
etc., used as a basis to calculate federal
income tax. Abbreviation
AGI
adjuster
/
ədstə
/
noun
a person
who calculates losses for an insurance
company
adjustment
/
ədstmənt
/
noun
1.
the act of adjusting
ć
to make an
adjustment to salaries
ć
an adjustment
of prices to take account of rising costs
2.
a slight change
ć
Details of tax ad-
justments are set out in the enclosed
document.
3.
an entry in accounts which
does not represent a receipt or payment,
but which is made to make the accounts
correct
4.
a change in the exchange
rates, made to correct a balance of pay-
ment deficit
adjustment credit
/
ədstmənt
kredt
/
noun
a short-term loan from
the Federal Reserve to a commercial
bank
adjustment trigger
/
ədstmənt
trə
/
noun
a factor such as a certain
level of inflation which triggers an ad-
justment in exchange rates
adjustor
/
ədstə
/
noun
same as
adjuster
administer
/
ədmnstə
/
verb
to or-
ganise, manage or direct the whole of an
organisation or part of one
ć
She admin-
isters a large pension fund.
ć
It will be
the HR manager’s job to administer the
induction programme.
administered price
/
ədmnstəd
pras
/
noun US
a price fixed by a man-
ufacturer which cannot be varied by a
retailer
(
NOTE
: The UK term is resale
price maintenance.)
administration
/
ədmnstreʃ(ə)n
/
noun
1.
the action of organising, con-
trolling or managing a company
2.
a
person or group of people who manage
or direct an organisation
ć
It is up to the
administration to solve the problem, not
the government.
3.
an appointment by a
court of a person to manage the affairs
of a company
administration costs
/
ədmn-
streʃ(ə)n kɒsts
/, administration
expenses /
ədmnstreʃ(ə)nk-
spensz
/
plural noun
the costs of
management, not including production,
marketing or distribution costs
administration order
/
ədmn-
streʃ(ə)n ɔdə
/
noun
1.
an order by a
court, by which a debtor repays his
debts in instalments
2.
an order by a
court to appoint an administrator for a
company
administrative receiver
/
əd-
mnstrətv rsivə
/
noun
a person
appointed by a court to administer the
affairs of a company
administrator
/
ədmnstretə
/
noun
1.
a person who directs the work
of other employees in a business
ć
After
several years as a college teacher, she
hopes to become an administrator.
2.
a
person appointed by a court to manage
the affairs of someone who dies without
leaving a will
admission charge
/
ədmʃ(ə)n
tʃɑd
/
noun
the price to be paid before
going into an area or building, e.g. to see
an exhibition
ADR
abbreviation
American Deposi
-
tary Receipt
ad valorem
/
d vəlɔrəm
/
adjective
from a Latin phrase meaning ‘according
to value’, showing that a tax is calcu-
lated according to the value of the goods
taxed
ć
ad valorem duty
ć
ad valorem
tax
COMMENT
: Most taxes are ‘ad valorem’.
For example VAT is calculated as a per-
centage of the charge made, and income
tax is a percentage of income earned.
ad valorem duty
/
d vəlɔrəm
djuti
/
noun
the duty calculated on the
sales value of the goods
ad valorem tax
/
d vəlɔrem
tks
/
noun
tax calculated according to
the value of the goods taxed
advance
/
ədvɑns
/
noun
1.
money
paid as a loan or as a part of a payment
to be made later
ć
She asked if she
could have a cash advance.
ć
We paid
her an advance on account.
2.
an
increase
3.
˽
in advance early, before
something happens
ć
freight payable in
advance
ć
prices fixed in advance
í
ad-
jective
early, or taking place before
something else happens
ć
advance
payment
ć
Advance holiday bookings
are up on last year.
ć
You must give
seven days’ advance notice of with-
drawals from the account.
í
verb
1.
to
lend
ć
The bank advanced him
£100,000 against the security of his
house.
2.
to increase
ć
Prices generally
advanced on the stock market.
3.
to
make something happen earlier
ć
The
date of the AGM has been advanced
to May 10th.
ć
The meeting with the
German distributors has been advanced
from 11.00 to 09.30.
Advance Corporation Tax
/
əd-
vɑns kɔpəreʃ(ə)n tks
/
noun
a
tax (abolished in 1999) which was paid
by a company in advance of its main
corporation tax payments. It was paid
when dividends were paid to sharehold-
ers and was deducted from the main tax
payment when that fell due. It appeared
on the tax voucher attached to a divi-
dend warrant. Abbreviation
ACT
adverse
/
dvs
/
adjective
unfa-
vourable
˽
adverse balance of trade a
situation in which a country imports
more than it exports
˽
adverse trading
conditions bad conditions for trade
adverse action
/
dvs kʃən
/
noun
a decision which has unfavourable
consequences for employees
ć
The new
adjustment trigger 8 adverse action
bonus system was considered adverse
action by underachievers in the
organisation.
advertising agency
/
dvətazŋ
edənsi
/
noun
an office which plans,
designs and manages advertising for
other companies
advertising budget
/
dvətazŋ
bdt
/
noun
money planned for
spending on advertising
ć
Our advertis-
ing budget has been increased.
advice
/
ədvas
/
noun
an opinion as to
what action to take
ć
The accountant’s
advice was to send the documents to the
police.
˽
to take legal advice to ask a
lawyer to say what should be done
ȣ
as
per advice 1.
according to what is writ-
ten on the advice note
2.
advising that a
bill of exchange has been drawn
advise
/
ədvaz
/
verb
1.
to tell some-
one what has happened
ć
We have been
advised that the shipment will arrive
next week.
2.
to suggest to someone
what should be done
ć
The lawyer ad-
vised us to send the documents to the
police.
advise against
/
ədvaz əenst
/
verb
to suggest that something should
not be done
ć
The HR manager advised
against dismissing the staff without
notice.
adviser
/
ədvazə
/, advisor
noun
a
person who suggests what should be
done
ć
He is consulting the company’s
legal adviser.
advisory
/
ədvaz(ə)ri
/
adjective
as
an adviser
ć
He is acting in an advisory
capacity.
advisory board
/
ədvaz(ə)ri bɔd
/
noun
a group of advisors
advisory funds
/
ədvaz(ə)ri fndz
/
plural noun
funds placed with a fi-
nancial institution to invest on behalf of
a client, the institution investing them at
its own discretion
AER
abbreviation
Annual Equivalent
Rate
AEX
abbreviation
Amsterdam Stock
Exchange
AFBD
abbreviation
Association of
Futures Brokers and Dealers
Affärsvärlden General Index
noun
an index of prices on the Stock
-
holm Stock Exchange
affect
/
əfekt
/
verb
to cause some
change in something, especially to have
a bad effect on something
ć
The new
government regulations do not affect us.
affiliate
/
əfliət
/
noun
a company
which partly owns another company, or
is partly owned by the same holding
company as another
affiliated
/
əflietd
/
adjective
con-
nected with or owned by another com-
pany
ć
Smiths Ltd is one of our
affiliated companies.
affinity card
/
əfnti kɑd
/
noun
a
credit card where a percentage of each
purchase made is given by the credit
card company to a stated charity
affluent
/
fluənt
/
adjective
rich
ć
Our more affluent clients prefer the lux-
ury model.
˽
the affluent rich people
˽
the mass affluent people with more
than £50,000 in liquid assets
affluent society
/
fluənt səsaəti
/
noun
a type of society where most peo-
ple are rich
afford
/
əfɔd
/
verb
to be able to pay
for or buy something
ć
We could not af-
ford the cost of two telephones.
ć
The
company cannot afford the time to train
new staff.
(
NOTE
: Only used after can,
cannot, could, could not, able to)
afghani
/
fɑni
/
a unit of currency
used in Afghanistan
African Development Bank
/
frkən dveləpmənt
/
noun
a bank
set up by African countries to provide
long-term loans to help agricultural
development and improvement of the
infrastructure. Abbreviation
ADB
(
NOTE
: The bank now has non-African
members.)
afterdate
/
ɑftədet
/
noun
a bill of
exchange payable at a date later than
that on the bill
aftermarket
/
ɑftəmɑkt
/
noun
a
market in new shares, which starts im-
mediately after trading in the shares be-
gins (i.e. a secondary market)
after tax
/
ɑftər tks
/
adverb
after
tax has been paid
after-tax profit
/
ɑftə tks prɒft
/
noun
profit after tax has been deducted
AG
abbreviation
Aktiengesellschaft
against
/
əenst
/
preposition
1.
in
view of the fact that something else is
owed or has been pledged
ć
Can I have
advertising agency 9 against

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