Industry WIKI

A collateralized fund obligation (CFO) is a form of securitization involving private equity fund or hedge fund assets, similar to collateralized debt obligations. CFOs are a structured form of financing for diversified private equity portfolios, layering several tranches of debt ahead of the equity holders.

Colored Coins is an open-source protocol that allows users to represent and manipulate immutable digital resources on top of Bitcoin transactions. They are a class of methods for representing and maintaining real-world assets on the Bitcoin blockchain, which may be used to establish asset ownership. Colored coins are bitcoins with a mark on them that specifies what they may be used for.

A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and provides loans to its clients in order to facilitate their commercial affairs, including transactional and trading activities involving monetary and non-monetary exchanges, while generating profit. In common usage, the term bank generally denotes a commercial bank that is authorized to accept deposits

Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC (CBC) also known as Commercial Bank or ComBank is a licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka and its ownership is private. It was incorporated as a public limited company and it is listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. It is regarded as the largest private bank in Sri Lanka in terms of net worth and capital. The bank is currently the third largest bank in Sri L

A commercial mortgage is a mortgage loan secured by commercial property, such as an office building, shopping center, industrial warehouse, or apartment complex. The proceeds from a commercial mortgage are typically used to acquire, refinance, or redevelop commercial property.

A commission is a form of variable-pay remuneration for services rendered or products sold. Commissions are a common way to motivate and reward salespeople. Commissions can also be designed to encourage specific sales behaviors. For example, commissions may be reduced when granting large discounts. Or commissions may be increased when selling certain products the organization wants to pr

The Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt (CRND) is a statutory body of the UK Government, whose main function is the investment and management of government funds. The current Comptroller General is Paul Canty.

The Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) was an independent advisory group on banking supervision in the European Union (EU), active from its establishment in 2004 to its replacement on 1 January 2011 by the European Banking Authority (EBA) which took over all its tasks and responsibilities following Regulation (EC) No. 1093/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council

The Standing Committee on Banking [and Currency] (Swedish: Bankoutskottet, BaU) was a Swedish parliamentary committee that operated from 1672 to 1970. Originally created to supervise the newly established Riksbank, it evolved into a permanent institution with constitutional status by 1809. Its early duties focused on reviewing the bank's condition and reporting to the estates, but over t

The Committee on the Global Financial System (CGFS) is an international body hosted by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is a wholly owned United States government corporation that was created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices" (federally chartered by the CCC Charter Act of 1948 (P.L. 80-806)). The CCC is authorized to buy, sell, lend, make payments, and engage in other activities for the purpose of increasing production, stabilizing p

A commodity currency is a currency that co-moves with the world prices of primary commodity products, due to these countries' heavy dependency on the export of certain raw materials for income. Commodity currencies are most prevalent in developing countries (eg. Burundi, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea). In the foreign exchange market, commodity currencies generally refer to the New Zealand d

A commodity market is a market that trades in the primary economic sector rather than manufactured products. The primary sector includes agricultural products, energy products, and metals. Soft commodities may be perishable and harvested, while hard commodities are usually mined, such as gold and oil. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investing in commodities. Commodity markets ca

Commodity money is money whose value comes from a commodity of which it is made. Commodity money consists of objects having value or use in themselves (intrinsic value) as well as their value in buying goods. This is in contrast to representative money, which has no intrinsic value but represents something of value such as gold or silver, for which it can be exchanged, and fiat money, wh

Commodity price shocks are times when the prices for commodities have drastically increased or decreased over a short span of time.

A commodity trading advisor (CTA) is US financial regulatory term for an individual or organization who is retained by a fund or individual client to provide advice and services related to trading in futures contracts, commodity options and/or swaps. They are responsible for the trading within managed futures accounts. The definition of CTA may also apply to investment advisors for hedge

Commodity trading in China has a short but high-growth history. With an increasing product variety and deepening liquidity pools, the mainland's futures market is playing an increasingly important role in serving the national economy.

Companies of the United States with untaxed profits deals with those U.S. companies whose offshore subsidiaries earn profits which are retained in foreign countries to defer paying U.S. corporate tax. The profits of United States corporations are subject to a federal corporate tax rate of 21%. In principle, the tax is payable on all profits of corporations, whether earned domestically or

A company store is a retail store selling a limited range of food, clothing and daily necessities to employees of a company. It is typical of a company town in a remote area where virtually everyone is employed by one firm, such as a coal mine. In a company town, the housing is owned by the company but there may be independent stores there or nearby.

In economics, competition is a scenario where different economic firms are in contention to obtain goods that are limited by varying the elements of the marketing mix: price, product, promotion and place. In classical economic thought, competition causes commercial firms to develop new products, services and technologies, which would give consumers greater selection and better products.

In economics, a complete market (a.k.a. Arrow-Debreu market or complete system of markets) is a market with two conditions:

Compound interest or anatocism is interest accumulated from a principal sum and previously accumulated interest. It is the result of reinvesting or retaining interest that would otherwise be paid out, or of the accumulation of debts from a borrower.

Compulsive buying disorder (CBD) is characterized by an obsession with shopping and buying behavior that causes adverse consequences. It "is experienced as a recurring, compelling and irresistible–compulsive urge, in acquiring goods that lack practical utility and very low cost resulting in excessive, expensive and time-consuming retail activity [that is] typically prompted by negative a

Computer Associates International, Inc., later CA, Inc., and CA Technologies, Inc., was an American multinational enterprise software developer and publisher that existed from 1976 to 2018. CA grew to rank as one of the largest independent software corporations in the world, and at one point was the second largest. The company created system software (and for a while applications softwar

A concession or concession agreement is a grant of rights, land, property, or facility by a government, local authority, corporation, individual or other legal entity.

A conditional variance swap is a type of variance swap or swap derivative product that allows investors to take exposure to volatility in the price of an underlying security but only while the underlying security is within a pre-specified price range. This instrument can be useful for hedging complex volatility exposures, making a bet on the volatility levels contained in the skew of th

Conduit OFC and sink OFC is an empirical quantitative method of classifying corporate tax havens, offshore financial centres (OFCs) and tax havens.

Originally developed in 2019 by Microsoft under the name Coco and later rebranded to Confidential Consortium Framework (CCF), it is an open-source framework for developing of a new category of performant applications that focuses on the optimization of secure multi-party computation and data availability. Intended to accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology by enterprises, CCF ca

In the United States, a conforming loan is a mortgage loan that both meets the underwriting guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises or GSE) and that does not exceed the conforming loan limit. The most well-known guideline is the size of the loan, which for 2024 was generally limited to $766,550 for one-unit single family homes in the continental US. Other guidelines inc

Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of charging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, telephones, and road pricing to reduce traffic congestion; airlines and shipping companies may be charged higher fees for slots at airports and through canal

Consensys is a private blockchain software technology company founded by Joseph Lubin and based in Fort Worth.

Conservation banking is an environmental market-based method designed to offset adverse effects, generally, to species of concern, are threatened, or endangered and protected under the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) through the creation of conservation banks. Conservation banking can be viewed as a method of mitigation that allows permitting agencies to target various natural

The Consolidated Tape Association (CTA) oversees the Securities Information Processor that disseminates real-time trade and quote information (market data) in New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and American Stock Exchange (AMEX) listed securities (stocks and bonds). It is currently chaired by Emily Kasparov of the Chicago Stock Exchange, the first woman and the youngest chair elected to the

Constant capital (c; German: konstantes Kapital) is a concept created by Karl Marx and used in Marxian political economy. It refers to one of the forms of capital invested in production, which contrasts with variable capital (v; German: variables Kapital). The distinction between constant and variable refers to an aspect of the economic role of factors of production in creating a new val

In mathematical finance, the constant elasticity of variance model (CEV) is a stochastic volatility model, although technically it would be classed more precisely as a local volatility model, that attempts to capture stochastic volatility and the leverage effect. The model is widely used by practitioners in the financial industry, especially for modelling equities and commodities. It was

Constant proportion portfolio investment (CPPI) is a trading strategy that allows an investor to maintain an exposure to the upside potential of a risky asset while

Constant purchasing power accounting (CPPA) is an accounting model that is an alternative to model historical cost accounting under high inflation and hyper-inflationary environments. It has been approved for use by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Under this IFRS and US GAAP authorized system, financial capital m

Constantin C. Arion (also known as Costică Arion; June 18, 1855 – June 27, 1923) was a Romanian politician, affiliated with the National Liberal Party, the Conservative Party and, after 1918, the People's Party. He served two terms as Minister of Religion and Public Instruction, one term as Minister of Agriculture, and another one as Interior Minister before World War I. His career peake

In economics, consumer debt is the amount owed by consumers (as opposed to amounts owed by businesses or governments). It includes debts incurred on purchase of goods that are consumable and/or do not appreciate. In macroeconomic terms, it is debt which is used to fund consumption rather than investment.

The consumer leverage ratio (CLR) is the ratio of total household debt to disposable personal income. The Federal Reserve separately reports household debt service payments as a percentage of disposable personal income. The Bureau of Economic Analysis publishes disposable personal income data.

Consumer privacy is information privacy as it relates to the consumers of products and services.

Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon in which the aspirations of many individuals include the acquisition of goods and services beyond those necessary for survival or traditional displays. In contemporary consumer society, the purchase and the consumption of products have evolved beyond the mere satisfaction of basic human needs, transforming into an activity that is n

Consumption of fixed capital (CFC) is a term used in business accounts, tax assessments and national accounts for depreciation of fixed assets. CFC is used in preference to "depreciation" to emphasize that fixed capital is used up in the process of generating new output, and because unlike depreciation it is not valued at historic cost but at current market value (so-called "economic dep

Contactless payment systems are credit cards and debit cards, key fobs, smart cards, or other devices, including smartphones and other mobile devices, that use radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) for making secure payments. The embedded integrated circuit chip and antenna enable consumers to wave their card, fob, or handheld device over a reader at the

A contactless smart card is a contactless credential whose dimensions are credit card size. Its embedded integrated circuits can store (and sometimes process) data and communicate with a terminal via NFC. Commonplace uses include transit tickets, bank cards and passports.

Most banknotes have traces of cocaine on them; this has been confirmed by studies done in several countries. In 1994, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals cited findings that in Los Angeles, three out of four banknotes were tainted by cocaine or another illicit drug.

A contingencies fund or contingency fund is a fund for emergencies or unexpected outflows, mainly economic crises.

In finance, a contingent claim is a derivative whose future payoff depends on the value of another “underlying” asset, or more generally, that is dependent on the realization of some uncertain future event.

A contingent convertible bond (CoCo), also known as an enhanced capital note (ECN), is a fixed-income instrument that is convertible into equity if a pre-specified trigger event occurs. The concept of CoCo has been particularly discussed in the context of crisis management in the banking industry. It has been also emerging as an alternative way for keeping solvency in the insurance indus

In corporate finance, Contingent Value Rights (CVR) are rights granted by an acquirer to a company’s shareholders, facilitating the transaction where some uncertainty is inherent. CVRs may be separately tradeable securities; they are occasionally acquired (or shorted) by specialized hedge funds.

The Continuance of Laws (No. 2) Act 1750 (24 Geo. 2. c. 57) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that continued various older acts.

The Continuance of Laws (No. 2) Act 1786 (26 Geo. 3. c. 80) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that continued various older acts.

The Continuance of Laws (No. 2) Act 1788 (28 Geo. 3. c. 24) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that continued various older acts.

The Continuance of Laws Act 1781 (21 Geo. 3. c. 29) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that revived and continued various older acts.

The Continuance of Laws, etc., (No. 2) Act 1757 (31 Geo. 2. c. 35) was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain that continued various older enactments.

In finance, a contract for difference (CFD) is a financial agreement between two parties, commonly referred to as the "buyer" and the "seller." The contract stipulates that the buyer will pay the seller the difference between the value of an asset at the time the contract was initiated and the current value of the asset. If the asset's price increases from the opening to the closing of t

The contractus trinus, contractus triplex, or simply triple contract, is a set of contracts used by European bankers and merchants in the Middle Ages, notably by the Fugger family, as a method of circumventing the canon law prohibition of usury.

Contrarian investing is an investment strategy that is characterized by purchasing and selling in contrast to the prevailing sentiment of the time.

A control premium is an amount that a buyer is sometimes willing to pay over the current market price of a publicly traded company in order to acquire a controlling share in that company.

The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances (French: Contrôleur général des finances) was the name of the minister in charge of finances in the Kingdom of France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances, which was abolished with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet. It did not hold any real political power until 1665, when First Minister J

Convergence trade is a trading strategy consisting of two positions: buying one asset forward—i.e., for delivery in future (going long the asset)—and selling a similar asset forward (going short the asset) for a higher price, in the expectation that by the time the assets must be delivered, the prices will have become closer to equal (will have converged), and thus one profits by the amo

Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.

The Copper Panic of 1789 was a monetary crisis of the early United States that was caused by debasement and loss of confidence in copper coins that occurred under the presidency of George Washington. Following the American Revolutionary War, several U.S. states began minting their own coins, largely using copper. As copper was relatively easy to counterfeit, counterfeiters in states whic

Core banking is a banking service provided by a group of networked bank branches where customers may access their bank account and perform basic transactions from any of the member branch offices.

CoreCard Corporation is an American financial technology company based in Norcross, Georgia. Before 2021, it was named Intelligent Systems Corporation and once sold portable computers, video terminals, expansion cards, and other peripherals through a variety of manufacturing subsidiaries.

Corgi is an American insurance technology company based in San Francisco that operates as a licensed insurance carrier for technology startups. The company was founded in 2024 and received regulatory approval to operate as an admitted insurance carrier in 2025. Its product line includes directors and officers liability, cyber insurance, commercial general liability, and AI liability cove

In competition law, cornering the market consists of obtaining sufficient control of a particular stock, commodity, human capital or other asset in an attempt to reduce competition.

The corporate debt bubble is the large increase in corporate bonds, excluding that of financial institutions, following the 2008 financial crisis. Global corporate debt rose from 84% of gross world product in 2009 to 92% in 2019, or about $72 trillion. In the world's eight largest economies—the United States, China, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany—total corpo

The Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) is the competent authority in Ireland for the general promotion of compliance with the Companies Acts, the investigation of breaches of the Companies Acts and the taking of any necessary enforcement actions to ensure continued compliance.

Corporate farming (also known as Big Agriculture or Big Ag in the United States and Canada) is the practice of large-scale industrial agriculture on farms owned or greatly influenced by large companies. This includes corporate ownership of farms and the sale of agricultural products, as well as the roles of these companies in influencing agricultural education, research, and public polic

In business, a corporate raid is the process of buying a large stake in a corporation and then using shareholder voting rights to require the company to undertake novel measures designed to increase the share value, generally in opposition to the desires and practices of the corporation's current management. The measures might include replacing top executives, downsizing operations, or l

Corporate services or business services are activities which combine or consolidate certain enterprise-wide needed support services, provided based on specialized knowledge, best practices, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) customers and business partners. The term corporate services providers (CSPs) is also used.

Corporate surveillance describes the practice of businesses monitoring and extracting information from their users, clients, or staff. This information may consist of online browsing history, email correspondence, phone calls, location data, and other private details. Acts of corporate surveillance frequently look to boost results, detect potential security problems, or adjust advertisin

Corporate synergy is a financial benefit that a corporation expects to realize when it merges with or acquires another corporation. Corporate synergy occurs when corporations interact congruently with one another, creating additional value.

A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but it may also be imposed at state or local levels in some countries. Corporate taxes may be referred to as income tax or capital tax, depending on

Corporate travel management is the function of managing a company’s strategic approach to travel (travel policy), the negotiations with all vendors, day-to-day operation of the corporate travel program, traveler safety and security, credit-card management and travel and expenses ('T&E') data management.

Corporate venture capital (CVC) is the investment of corporate funds directly in external startup companies. CVC is defined by the Business Dictionary as the "practice where a large firm takes an equity stake in a small but innovative or specialist firm, to which it may also provide management and marketing expertise; the objective is to gain a specific competitive advantage." Examples o

A corporation or body corporate is an individual or other entity such as a company that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of statute"; a legal person in a legal context) and recognized as such in law for certain purposes.

Corvinus International Investment Ltd. is a Hungarian state-owned asset management company. It is responsible for the execution of transactions related to company holdings in line with the strategic objectives of economic development and for the preservation and growth of the assets owned by the company.

The cost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living for an individual or a household. Cost-of-living calculations are also used to compare the cost of maintaining a given standard of living across different geographic areas. Differences in the cost of living between locations can be measured using purchasing power parity rates.

The cost of living in Namibia is higher than some other regional cities in the southern region of the African continent. Namibia imports about 50% of its cereal requirements. Many other items used in daily life also need to be imported. High transportation costs make prices very high and unaffordable. Monopolies in some business sectors causes higher profit booking, which also results in

A cost-of-living crisis is a situation or period of high inflation with increases in the nominal cost of living while real wages decrease. As a result, real income and living standards are squeezed to the point that people cannot afford the standard of living that they were previously accustomed to. The population becomes 'poorer' than it used to be in real terms. This is in contrast to

Cost–benefit analysis (CBA), sometimes also called benefit–cost analysis, is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives. It is used to determine options which provide the best approach to achieving benefits while preserving savings in, for example, transactions, activities, and functional business requirements. A CBA may be used to compare completed

The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER) is a Costa Rican governmental agency for investment and export promotion responsible for export promotion programs, attracting foreign direct investment, creating human talent development programs, and providing technical and financial support for the administration of Costa Rica's special export regimes.

Country risk refers to the risk of investing or lending in a country, arising from possible changes in the business environment that may adversely affect operating profits or the value of assets in the country. For example, financial factors such as currency controls, devaluation or regulatory changes, or stability factors such as mass riots, civil war and other potential events contribu

Court auction is an auction which takes place at a public location designated by the court.

A Coverdell education savings account (also known as an education savings account, a Coverdell ESA, a Coverdell account, or just an ESA, and formerly known as an education individual retirement account), is a tax advantaged investment account in the U.S. designed to encourage savings to cover future education expenses (elementary, secondary, or college), such as tuition, books, and unifo

A covered option is a financial transaction in which the holder of securities sells (or "writes") an options contract, either a "call option" or a "put option", against stock that they own or are short, respectively.

In mathematical finance, the Cox–Ingersoll–Ross (CIR) model describes the evolution of interest rates. It is a type of "one factor model" (short-rate model) as it describes interest rate movements as driven by only one source of market risk. The model can be used in the valuation of interest rate derivatives. It was introduced in 1985 by John C. Cox, Jonathan E. Ingersoll and Stephen A.

CPA Australia ("Certified Practising Accountant") is a professional accounting body in Australia, originally founded as the "Incorporated Institute of Accountants" in 1886. As of 31 December 2020, it has 168,736 members in 150 countries and regions. CPA Australia currently has 19 staffed offices across Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, New Zealand and

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB; French: Office d'investissement du régime de pensions du Canada), operating as CPP Investments (French: Investissements RPC), is a Canadian Crown corporation established by way of the 1997 Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act to oversee and invest the funds contributed to and held by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP).

Craig S. Fleisher is a scholar, advisor and author who has written or edited several books on public affairs, business, and competitive intelligence and analysis. Before becoming Dean of the Business School at the College of Coastal Georgia, he was awarded two endowed research chair positions while a Professor of Business (Strategy & Environment) at the Odette School of Business, Univers

Cramming is a form of fraud in which small charges are added to a bill for service(s) or product(s) by a third party without the subscriber's consent, approval, authorization or disclosure. These may be disguised as a tax, some other common fee or a bogus service, and may be several dollars or even just a few cents. The crammer's intent is that the subscriber will overlook and ultimately

Creations (formerly Creation Club) is a system of microtransactions designed by Bethesda Game Studios for its games Fallout 4, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition and Starfield. The system was launched for Fallout 4 on August 29, 2017.

Credible is a financial technology company headquartered in San Francisco and incorporated under the name Credible Labs Inc. The company also does business through its subsidiary Credible Operations, Inc. Its online marketplace offers consumers the ability to compare and refinance loans, mortgages, and other financial products from lenders. Credible became a subsidiary of Fox Corporation

Credit (from Latin creditum, "loan") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt), but promises either to repay or return those resources (or other materials of equal value) at a later date. The resources provided by the first party can be either prope

A credit bureau is a data collection agency that gathers account information from various creditors and provides that information to a consumer reporting agency in the United States, a credit reference agency in the United Kingdom, a credit reporting body in Australia, a credit information company (CIC) in India, a Special Accessing Entity in the Philippines, and also to private lenders.

A credit card (or charge card) is a payment card, usually issued by a bank, allowing the card's users to purchase goods and services, or withdraw cash on credit. Card use thereby accrues debt that must be repaid later.

Credit card debt results when a client of a credit card company purchases an item or service through the card system. Debt grows through the accrual of interest and penalties when the consumer fails to repay the company for the money they have spent.

Credit card interest is a way in which credit card issuers generate revenue. A card issuer is a bank or credit union that gives a consumer (the cardholder) a card or account number that can be used with various payees to make payments and borrow money from the bank simultaneously. The bank pays the payee and then charges the cardholder interest over the time the money remains borrowed. B