XPayIndustry WIKIBack to home
XPAY KNOWLEDGE

Industry WIKI

Digital assets and currencies

Understand assets, networks and trading mechanics with sources you can check.

Securities & exchanges

Asset swap

The term asset swap has a number of different meanings:

Banking

Asset-based lending

Asset-based lending is any kind of lending secured by an asset. This means, if the loan is not repaid, the asset is taken. In this sense, a mortgage is an example of an asset-based loan. More commonly however, the phrase is used to describe lending to business and large corporations using assets not normally used in other loans. Typically, the different types of asset-based loans include

Trading basics

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing

The Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing is an official within the United States Treasury Department appointed by the President of the United States, tasked with formulating, coordinating, and executing the U.S. government's counterterrorism financing and anti-money laundering strategies, as well as engaging in financial diplomacy to disrupt the financing of illicit actors and U.S

Banking

Association of German Public Banks

The Association of German Public Banks (German: Bundesverband Öffentlicher Banken Deutschlands, generally referred to as VÖB) is a leading association within the German banking sector, bringing together most of the German public banking sector except the local-level savings banks (German: Sparkassen). Its membership includes 63 banks, including the Landesbanks that are also members of th

Finance

Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada

Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada (APTUSC) is the professional society of active public treasurers of counties, provinces, cities, and special districts in the United States and Canada. It sets ethical standards for the treasury profession in state and local government.

Trading basics

Assurant

Assurant, Inc. is a global provider of risk management products and services with headquarters in Atlanta. Its businesses provide a diverse set of speciality, niche-market insurance products in the property, casualty, extended device protection, and insurance sectors. The company's main operating segments are Global Housing and Global Lifestyle.

Finance

Atanu Chakraborty

Atanu Chakraborty (born 5 April 1960) is a retired 1985 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, who served as the Chairman of HDFC Bank until 18th March 2026. He was appointed by the Reserve Bank of India in April 2021. He previously served as the Economic Affairs Secretary in Ministry of Finance Government of India until his retirement in April 2020. His participation in the economic po

Trading basics

Atlus

Atlus Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社アトラス, Hepburn: Kabushikigaisha Atorasu) is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for the Megami Tensei, Persona, Etrian Odyssey, and Trauma Center series. Its corporate mascot is Jack Frost, a snowman-like character from its Megami Tensei series. Th

Payments & settlement

ATM

An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, funds transfers, balance or account information inquiries, at any time and without the need for direct interaction with bank staff.

Trading basics

ATM Industry Association

The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA), originally the ATM Owners Association, was established in 1997 in the United States as a global nonprofit trade association to service an industry that built around the global growth of the ATM.

Trading basics

Attack marketing

Attack marketing is a form of marketing that incorporates a series of creative and strategic techniques used to build and maintain public awareness surrounding a person, place, product, or event. Attack marketing utilizes the power of social interactions to execute non-traditional marketing campaigns that drive sales, increase name awareness and create long-term buzz around a specific bu

Securities & exchanges

Auction rate security

An auction rate security (ARS) typically refers to a debt instrument (corporate or municipal bonds) with a long-term nominal maturity for which the interest rate is regularly reset through a Dutch auction. Since February 2008, most such auctions have failed, and the auction market has been largely frozen. In late 2008, investment banks that had marketed and distributed auction rate secur

Trading basics

Audience response

Audience Response is a type of interaction associated with the use of online systems such as presentations to facilitate interaction between a presenter and their audience. Systems for co-located audiences combine Wireless hardware with presentation software. Systems for remote audiences may use telephones or web polls for audiences watching through television or the internet. Various na

Finance

Audit Scotland

Audit Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Buidheann-sgrùdaidh na h-Alba) is an independent public body responsible for auditing most of Scotland's public organisations.

Finance

Austerity

Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spending, raising taxes while cutting spending, and lower taxes and lower government spending. Austerity measures are often used by governments that find it

Payments & settlement

Australian Payments Network

Australian Payments Network Limited (AusPayNet), formerly the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) is the self-regulatory body set up by the payments industry to improve the safety, reliability, equity, convenience and efficiency of payment systems in Australia.

Trading basics

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. APRA was established on 1 July 1998 in response to the recommendations of the Wallis Inquiry. APRA's authority and scope is determined pursuant to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act, 1998 (C

Banking

Authorised deposit-taking institution

Financial institutions in Australia are only permitted to accept deposits from the public if they are authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). The ADI’s authority is granted by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under the Banking Act 1959 (Cth).

Trading basics

Authoritarian capitalism

Authoritarian capitalism, or illiberal capitalism, is an economic system in which a liberal capitalist market economy exists alongside an authoritarian government. It overlaps significantly with state capitalism, a system in which the state undertakes commercial activities. However, it is distinct in its combination of private property and the functioning of market forces with restrictio

Trading basics

Automated trading system

An automated trading system (ATS), a subset of algorithmic trading, uses a computer program to create buy and sell orders and automatically submits the orders to a market center or exchange. The computer program will automatically generate orders based on predefined set of rules using a trading strategy which is based on technical analysis, advanced statistical and mathematical computati

Payments & settlement

Automatic Bank Services

Automatic Bank Services Ltd. (Hebrew: שירותי בנק אוטומטיים; abbreviated as Shva Hebrew: שבא) is an Israeli company that provides communications and computing services in the banking sector in Israel. Its main field is the clearing of credit card transactions. The company's first CEO, until 1984, was Yoram Elster. After him, for more than thirty years, the CEO was Gideon Milowitzki. CEO M

Trading basics

Avantor

Avantor, Inc. is an American biotechnology, chemicals, and pharmaceutical company headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Established in 1904 as J.T. Baker, the company changed its name to Avantor in 2010. Avantor went public in 2019 and is now listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “AVTR”.

Trading basics

Avon Products

Avon Products, Inc., doing business as Avon ( AY-von), is an Anglo-American multinational company selling cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care products. It is a multi-level marketing company based in London. In 2020, Avon had annual sales of $9.1 billion worldwide.

Trading basics

Axe-monies

Axe-monies (Spanish: Tajaderos) refer to copper artifacts found in both western Mesoamerica and the northern Andes. Based on ethnohistorical, archaeological, chemical, and metallurgical analyses, the scholars Hosler, Lechtman and Holm have argued for their use in both regions (which are separated by thousands of miles) through trade. In contrast to naipes, bow-tie- or card-shaped metal o

Finance

Bachelier model

The Bachelier model is a model of an asset price under Brownian motion presented by Louis Bachelier in his PhD thesis The Theory of Speculation (French: Théorie de la spéculation), published 1900. It is also called the normal model equivalently (as opposed to log-normal model or Black–Scholes model). One early criticism of the Bachelier model is that the probability distribution which h

Securities & exchanges

Backspread

In options trading, the backspread is the converse strategy to the ratio spread and is also known as the reverse ratio spread. Using calls, a bullish strategy known as the call backspread can be constructed and with puts, a strategy known as the put backspread can be constructed.

Securities & exchanges

Backwardation

Backwardation is a market condition where the price of a commodity's forward or futures contract price is trading below the spot price.

Trading basics

Bahamian dollar

The dollar (sign: $; code: BSD) has been the currency of The Bahamas since 1966. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.

Banking

Bai Salam

Bai Salam (Arabic بيع سلم, more accurately transliterated as Bai us Salami) is an Islamic contract in which full payment is made in advance for specific goods (often agricultural products) to be delivered at a future date. It is necessary that the quality of the commodity intended to be purchased is fully specified leaving no ambiguity leading to dispute. Bai salam covers almost every

Trading basics

Baltic Exchange

The Baltic Exchange (incorporated as The Baltic Exchange Limited) is a British financial services company and membership organisation for the maritime industry, and freight market information provider for the trading and settlement of chartering and derivative contracts.

Finance

Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia

Banca Agricola Popolare di Sicilia, known until 2024 as Banca Agricola Popolare di Ragusa S.C.p.A., is an Italian cooperative bank based in Ragusa, Sicily.

Banking

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (Italian pronunciation: [ˈbaŋka ˈmonte dei ˈpaski di ˈsjɛːna]), known as BMPS or just MPS, is an Italian bank. Tracing its history to a mount of piety founded in 1472 (554 years ago) and established in its present form in 1624 (402 years ago), it is the world's oldest bank, and after the acquisition of Mediobanca in 2025 it is the third largest Ital

Trading basics

Banco Ambrosiano

Banco Ambrosiano (Italian pronunciation: [ˈban.ko am.broˈzja.no]; lit. 'Milanese Bank') was an Italian bank that was established in 1896 and collapsed in 1982. The Vatican-based Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, was Banco Ambrosiano's main shareholder.

Banking

Banco di Napoli

Banco di Napoli S.p.A., among the oldest banks in the world, was an Italian banking subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo group, as one of the 6 retail brands other than "Intesa Sanpaolo". It was acquired by the Italian banking group Sanpaolo IMI (the predecessor of Intesa Sanpaolo) in 2002 and ceased being an independent bank. In February 2018, Intesa Sanpaolo announced their new business plan,

Banking

Banco di Santo Spirito

The Bank of the Holy Spirit (Italian: Il Banco di Santo Spirito) was a bank founded by Pope Paul V on 13 December 1605. The bank was the first central bank in Europe (as the bank of the Papal States) at a level above city-states, the first public deposit bank in Rome, and the oldest continuously operating bank in Rome until its merger in 1992.

Banking

Banco Hispano Americano

Banco Hispano Americano (BHA) was a private Spanish bank that operated during most of the 20th century, becoming one of the most important financial institutions in the country. The activities of the Hispano Americano were not limited to the financial sector and it also had a prominent presence in the industrial sector through various investments. It was also linked to foreign trade, ope

Finance

Bangladesh Krishi Bank

Bangladesh Krishi Bank (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ কৃষি ব্যাংক) is a fully government owned bank in Bangladesh founded in 1973. The primary purpose of the bank is to provide services to farmers and agricultural industry. Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank is the other state owned agriculture bank in Bangladesh.

Banking

Bank Australia

Bank Australia is an Australian customer-owned bank based in Collingwood, Victoria. The organisation can trace its origins back to 1957, when the CSIRO Co-operative Credit Society was formed. Over succeeding years, mergers among 72 other credit unions and co-operative banks eventually led to the creation of the Members & Education Credit Union (mecu) in 2003, which became Bankmecu in 201

Finance

Bank for International Settlements

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution which is owned by members' central banks. Its primary goal is to foster international monetary and financial cooperation while serving as a bank for central banks. With its establishment in 1930 it is the oldest international financial institution. Its initial purpose was to oversee the settlement of W

Banking

Bank of Amsterdam

The Bank of Amsterdam or Wisselbank (Dutch: Amsterdamsche Wisselbank, lit. 'Exchange Bank of Amsterdam') was an early bank, vouched for by the city of Amsterdam, and established in 1609. It was the first public bank to offer accounts not directly convertible to coin. As such, it has been described by some as the first true central bank, even though that view is not uniformly shared. The

Banking

Bank of England Museum

The Bank of England Museum, located within the Bank of England in the City of London, is home to a collection of diverse items relating to the history of the Bank and the UK economy from the Bank's foundation in 1694 to the present day.

Finance

Bank of Israel

The Bank of Israel (Hebrew: בנק ישראל, Arabic: بنك إسرائيل) is the central bank of Israel. The bank's headquarters is located in Kiryat HaMemshala in Jerusalem with a branch office in Tel Aviv. The current governor is Amir Yaron.

Banking

Bank of issue

A bank of issue, also referred to as a note-issuing bank or issuing authority, is a financial institution that issues banknotes.

Banking

Bank of North America

The Bank of North America was the first chartered bank in the United States, and served as the country's first de facto central bank. It was chartered by the Congress of the Confederation on May 26, 1781, and opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 7, 1782.

Banking

Bank rate

Bank rate, also known as discount rate in American English, and (familiarly) the base rate in European English, is the rate of interest which a central bank charges on its loans and advances to a commercial bank. The bank rate is known by a number of different terms depending on the country, and has changed over time in some countries as the mechanisms used to manage the rate have change

Fiat currencies

Bank reserves

Bank reserves are a commercial bank's cash holdings physically held by the bank, and deposits held in the bank's account with the central bank. In most countries, the central bank may set minimum reserve requirements that mandate commercial banks under their purview to hold cash or deposits at the central bank equivalent to at least a prescribed percentage of their liabilities, such as c

Banking

Bank secrecy

Banking secrecy, alternatively known as financial privacy, banking discretion, or bank safety, is a conditional agreement between a bank and its clients that all foregoing activities remain secure, confidential, and private. Most often associated with banking in Switzerland, banking secrecy is prevalent in Luxembourg, Monaco, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ireland, and Lebanon, among other off-sh

Banking

Bank state branch

A Bank State Branch (often referred to as "BSB") is the name used in Australia for a bank code, which is a branch identifier. The BSB is normally used in association with the account number system used by each financial institution. The structure of the BSB + account number does not permit for account numbers to be transferable between financial institutions. While similar in structure,

Banking

Bank vault

A bank vault is a secure room used by banks to store and protect valuables, cash, and important documents. Modern bank vaults are typically made of reinforced concrete and steel, with complex locking mechanisms and security systems. This article covers the design, construction, and security features of bank vaults.

Trading basics

Bank walkaway

A bank walkaway is a decision by a mortgage lender (a bank) to not foreclose

Banking

Banker's right to combine accounts

Under English law, a bank has a general right to combine accounts where a customer has multiple accounts with the same bank. The right has been recognised since at least 1860. However it was not until the 1975 House of Lords decision in National Westminster Bank Ltd v Halesowen Presswork & Assemblies Ltd [1972] AC 785 that it was finally determined that this was a type of set-off righ

Banking

Bankers' bonuses

Bankers' bonuses are traditionally paid or awarded to some workers in the finance industry at the end of the bank's financial year. They are intended to reward employee behavior during that year that has increased the profits of the bank or some relevant part of its business, as shown by the annual accounts. The bonus culture is usually associated with the front office or investment bank

Trading basics

Banking as a service

Banking as a service (BaaS) is the provision of banking products (such as deposit accounts, loans and credit cards) to customers through non-bank or non-financial third party partnerships. The bank provides the balance sheet management, including capital, liquidity and credit risk management, while the partner company (typically a fintech) interacts directly with the customer via their p

Banking

Banking in Australia

Banking in Australia is a central component of the country's financial system and one of the most concentrated banking sectors in the world. As of 2025 the sector contributes 7.5% of GDP and employs 450,000 people.

Banking

Banking in Bhutan

Banking in Bhutan, a small country in East Asia, is an industry that has grown slowly as the country has pursued modernization. The country has a vibrant informal culture of finance which only weakly integrates formal financial services.

Banking

Banking in Egypt

Banking in Egypt is regulated by the Central Bank of Egypt. Egypt’s banking sector has undergone major reforms since the 1990s, resulting in a liberalized and modernized system aligned with international standards. Financial inclusion has expanded, with 74.8% of Egyptians aged 15 and above using financial accounts, reaching 52 million users by 2024. Usage spans banks, Egypt Post, mobile

Banking

Banking in Kyrgyzstan

In mid-1995, the banking system in Kyrgyzstan continued to be dominated by the central savings bank (the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan, created in 1991) and by the three major commercial banks that succeeded the sectoral banks of the Soviet era and remained under state control. Those banks, the Agricultural and Industrial Bank (Agroprombank), the Industrial and Construction Bank (Promstroy

Banking

Banking in New Zealand

The Banking sector in New Zealand dates back to the early days of European settlement in the country. Over the years, the banking industry has played a vital role in supporting economic growth and development, providing financial services to individuals, businesses, and the government. This article explores the significant milestones and transformations in the history of the New Zealand

Banking

Banking in Vietnam

Banking in Vietnam started in 1976 with the State Bank Vietnam, which became the central bank of the country. Vietnam's banks suffer from low public confidence, regulatory and managerial weakness, high levels of non-performing loans (NPL), non-compliance with the Basel capital standards, and the absence of international auditing. Foreign investment limit into national banks of Vietnam is

Banking

Banq

"Banq" and "banc" are alternative spellings used in company names to evade legal restrictions on the use of the word 'bank' while maintaining a similar pronunciation. This practice is common in the financial services industry, particularly in the United States.

Finance

Bárcenas affair

The Bárcenas affair is a corruption scandal in Spain that affects the conservative People's Party (PP), one of the country's main political parties. Following revelations that Luis Bárcenas, who served as party treasurer and senator, held 48 million euros in Swiss bank accounts, extracts of handwritten accounts, the so-called "Bárcenas papers" (los papeles de Bárcenas) were published in

Trading basics

Barker channel

A barker channel is a form of digital signage, operating in the form of a television channel that is entirely composed of sales promotion and advertising, usually marketing various features of the service carrying the channel. The name is derived from the circus barker, who stood outside a circus and shouted to passers-by to encourage them to enter to view the entertainment being provide

Trading basics

Barneys New York

Barneys New York is an American luxury department store founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman. It introduced many major brands to the American market including Armani, Azzedine Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Christian Louboutin, and Zegna.

Finance

Barrier option

A barrier option is an option whose payoff is conditional upon the underlying asset's price breaching a barrier level during the option's lifetime.

Fiat currencies

Barry Eichengreen

Barry Julian Eichengreen (born 1952) is an American economist and economic historian who is the George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1987. Eichengreen is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a research fellow at the Centre for Economic Policy R

Trading basics

Barter

In trade, barter (derived from bareter) is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Barter is considered one of the earliest systems of economic exchange, used before the invention of money. Economists usually distinguish barter from gift economies in many

Trading basics

Basel III

Basel III is a framework published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in response to the deficiencies in financial regulation revealed by the 2008 financial crisis. It sets international standards and recommendations for bank capital requirements, stress tests, liquidity regulations, and leverage, with the goal of mitigating the risk of bank runs and bank failures. Base

Securities & exchanges

Basket option

A basket option is a financial derivative, more specifically an exotic option, whose underlying is a weighted sum or average of different assets that have been grouped together in a basket. A basket option is similar to an index option, where a number of stocks have been grouped together in an index and the option is based on the price of the index, but differs in that the members and we

Trading basics

Baxi

Baxi is a manufacturer and distributor of domestic and commercial water and space heating systems, based in Warwick, England.

Trading basics

Bean-to-bar

Bean-to-bar is a business model in which a chocolate manufacturer controls the entire manufacturing process from procuring cocoa beans to creating the end product of consumer chocolate.

Securities & exchanges

Bear spread

In options trading, a bear spread is a bearish, vertical spread options strategy that can be used when the options trader is moderately bearish on the underlying security.

Finance

Beirut Central District

The Beirut Central District, historically named "Al-Balad", is the historical and geographical core of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Also called downtown Beirut, it has been described as the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative hub of the country.” It is thousands of years old, with a traditional focus on business, finance, culture, and leisure.

Trading basics

BEL 20

The BEL 20 is the benchmark stock market index of Euronext Brussels. It tracks the performance of the 20 most capitalized and liquid stocks traded in Belgium. In general, the index consists of a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 companies traded at the Brussels Stock Exchange. Since 20 June 2011, the BEL 20 has contained 20 listings, with the exception of a one-month period in May–June 2

Trading basics

Belarusian economic miracle

The Belarusian economic miracle was a period of significant economic growth, urbanisation, and social change in Belarus during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Beginning under Kirill Mazurov, the Belarusian economy began a process of industrialisation which greatly accelerated under Pyotr Masherov. It continued until the 2008 financial crisis, as Belarus endured the dissolution of

Securities & exchanges

Belgrade Stock Exchange

The Belgrade Stock Exchange (BSE or BELEX; Serbian: Београдска берза, romanized: Beogradska berza) is a stock exchange based in Belgrade, the capital city of Serbia. The exchange was originally founded in 1894. It currently consist of 2 indices.

Fiat currencies

Ben Bernanke

Ben Shalom Bernanke ( bər-NANG-kee; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Federal Reserve, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. During his tenure as chairman, Bernanke oversaw the Federal Reserve's response to the 2008 financial crisis, for which he was

Finance

Benefice

A benefice () or living is a reward received, usually in exchange for (or as a consequence of) services rendered; such payment also operates as a retainer to help ensure the delivery of such services, or fulfilment of the duties of the relevant office, into the future. The term is still used, although the substance of benefices has recently changed, in many historical parishes and positi

Banking

Berenberg family

The Berenberg family (Dutch for "bear mountain") was a Flemish-origined Hanseatic family of merchants, bankers and senators in Hamburg, with branches in London, Livorno and other European cities. The family was descended from the brothers Hans and Paul Berenberg from Antwerp, who came as Protestant refugees to the city-republic of Hamburg following the Fall of Antwerp in 1585 and who est

Trading basics

Bernardine of Feltre

Bernardine of Feltre (sometimes Bernardinus of Feltre; 1439 – 28 September 1494) was a Friar Minor and missionary who was born in Feltre, Italy and died in Pavia. He is remembered in connection with the monti di pietà of which he was the reorganizer and, in a certain sense, the founder, together with Michele Carcano. The feast of Blessed Bernardino is kept in the Order of Friars Minor on

Trading basics

Bernardino Nogara

Bernardino Nogara (June 17, 1870 — November 15, 1958) was the financial advisor to the Vatican between 1929 and 1954, appointed by Pope Pius XI and retained by Pope Pius XII as the first Director of the Special Administration of the Holy See. According to historian John F. Pollard, Nogara laid "the foundations" for "one of the biggest pillars for the Vatican's post-Second World War fina

Trading basics

Bernardino of Siena

Bernardino of Siena, OFM (also Bernardine or Bernadine; born Bernardino degli Albizzeschi; 8 September 1380 – 20 May 1444), was an Italian Catholic priest and Franciscan missionary preacher in the Republic of Siena. He was a systematizer of scholastic economics.

Securities & exchanges

Bernie Madoff

Bernard Lawrence Madoff (; April 29, 1938 – April 14, 2021) was an American financier, con artist, and stock broker who was the admitted mastermind of the largest-known Ponzi scheme in history, worth an estimated $65 billion. He was at one time chairman of the Nasdaq stock exchange. Madoff's firm had two basic units: a stock brokerage and an asset management business; the Ponzi scheme w

Fiat currencies

Bertil Ohlin

Bertil Gotthard Ohlin (Swedish: [ˈbæ̌ʈːɪl ʊˈliːn]) (23 April 1899 – 3 August 1979) was a Swedish economist and politician. He was a professor of economics at the Stockholm School of Economics from 1929 to 1965. He was also leader of the People's Party, a social-liberal party which at the time was the largest party in opposition to the governing Social Democratic Party, from 1944 to 1967.

Finance

Beta (finance)

In finance, the beta (β or market beta or beta coefficient) is a statistic that measures the expected increase or decrease of an individual stock price in proportion to movements of the stock market as a whole. Beta can be used to indicate the contribution of an individual asset to the market risk of a portfolio when it is added in small quantity. It refers to an asset's non-diversifiabl

Banking

Bethmann family

The Bethmann family (; BET-mahn) has been remarkable for the high proportion of its male members who succeeded at mercantile or financial endeavors. This family trait began in medieval northern Germany and continued with the Bethmann bank, which Johann Philipp Bethmann (1715–1793) and Simon Moritz Bethmann (1721–1782) founded in 1748 and soon catapulted into the foremost ranks of German

Payments & settlement

BharatPe

BharatPe is an Indian fintech company headquartered in New Delhi (Delhi NCR) that provides digital payment and financial services to small merchants and Grocery stores. Founded in 2018, the company offers unified QR code payment acceptance, point-of-sale (POS) devices, and merchant credit facilities.

Trading basics

Bid–ask spread

The bid–ask spread (also bid–offer or bid/ask and buy/sell in the case of a market maker) is the difference between the prices quoted (either by a single market maker or in a limit order book) for an immediate sale (ask) and an immediate purchase (bid) for stocks, futures contracts, options, or currency pairs in some auction scenario. The size of the bid–ask spread in a security is one m

Trading basics

Bidding

Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service or a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something.

Trading basics

Biens mal acquis

Biens mal acquis (lit. 'ill-gotten goods') is a phrase used in French courts for litigation seeking the repayment of assets stolen from poor countries by corrupt officials. The phrase refers to anti-corruption legal proceedings against former dictators and strongmen outside of their country, the seizure of assets within the country of the legal proceedings, and the return of the assets t

Trading basics

Big Bang (financial markets)

The phrase Big Bang, used in reference to the sudden deregulation of financial markets, was coined to describe measures, including abolition of fixed commission charges and of the distinction between stockjobbers and stockbrokers on the London Stock Exchange and change from open outcry to screen-based electronic trading, effected by UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1986.

Securities & exchanges

Bill Ackman

William Albert Ackman (born May 11, 1966) is an American billionaire hedge fund manager who is the founder and chief executive of Pershing Square Capital Management, an investment management company. He has been described as an activist investor. As of April 2026, Ackman's net worth was estimated at $8 billion by Bloomberg.

Trading basics

Bill Chisholm (businessman)

William F. Chisholm Jr. is an American businessman. He is the managing partner and chief investment officer for STG Partners, LLC, a private equity firm, and has been the owner of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Boston Celtics since 2025. He purchased the Celtics for a record $6.1 billion.

Trading basics

Bill Conway (politician)

William Elias "Bill" Conway III (born May 8, 1978) is an American politician, attorney, businessman, and military veteran. He is the alderman for the 34th ward in the Chicago City Council, having won the 2023 election for the office. He also serves as the Democratic committeeperson for the 34th ward.

Trading basics

Bill of sale

A bill of sale is a document that transfers ownership of goods from one person to another. It is used in situations where the former owner transfers possession of the goods to a new owner. Bills of sale may be used in a wide variety of transactions: to sell goods, exchange, give, or mortgage objects. They can be used only to transfer ownership of goods that people already own or to trans

Trading basics

Bill.com

BILL Holdings, Inc. is an American company based in San Jose, California, that provides automated, cloud-based software for financial operations for small businesses in the United States. A white-labeled, end-to-end payments automation platform, Bill.com Connect is offered to financial institutions as part of their single sign-on online business banking ecosystem.

Finance

BillGuard

BillGuard was a personal finance security and productivity company. Its mobile and web applications scanned credit and debit card transactions, alerting users to potential scams, billing errors, fraudulent charges, and hidden fees.

Payments & settlement

Bills of credit

Bills of credit are documents similar to banknotes issued by a government that represent a government's indebtedness to the holder. They are typically designed to circulate as currency or currency substitutes. Bills of credit are mentioned in Article One, Section 10, Clause One (also known as the Contract Clause) of the United States Constitution, where their issuance by state governme

Fiat currencies

Bimetallism

Bimetallism, also known as the bimetallic standard, is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent to certain quantities of two metals, creating a fixed rate of exchange between them. In all known historical cases, the metals are gold and silver.

Assets

Binance

Binance Holdings Ltd., branded Binance, is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. Binance was founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao. It was initially based in China, then moved to Japan, subsequently left Japan for Malta, and now has no official company headquarters.

Securities & exchanges

Binary option

A binary option is a financial exotic option in which the payoff is either some fixed monetary amount or nothing at all. The two main types of binary options are the cash-or-nothing binary option and the asset-or-nothing binary option. The former pays some fixed amount of cash if the option expires in-the-money while the latter pays the value of the underlying security. They are also cal