Bancassurance: The merging of banking and assurance business within a banking business or a building society. Assurance services provided include life assurance and pensions. The emergence of bancassurance was due to the entry of banks into house loan business and the recognition both by such banks and by building societies that with their many outlets they were well placed to sell the life assurance policies used as collateral for mortgages.
Capital duty (UK): A tax (taxation) levied on companies on the proceeds of a new issue of share. Abolished in 1988. *stamp duty.
Captive insurer: An insurer established and wholly owned by an industrial or commercial company, or a group of such companies, for the purpose of underwriting all the insurance risks of that company or those companies.
Daimyo bond: A bearer security issued by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development on the Japanese capital market and also in the Eurobond market. Market makers are permitted to take short positions in these bonds, unlike the provisions for samurai bonds.
Economic value added (EVA): A method for evaluating companies by comparing the rate of return on investment with the weighted average cost of capital. Companies seen to be earning less than their cost of capital are said to be destroying value, while those that have a rate of return above their cost of capital are creating value.
Fiduciary: A person or legal body acting on behalf of others who have a beneficial interest in investments or other property.
Generic: An unbranded product sold by retailers. Generics are distinct from producer brands and retail private labels, in that they are sold primarily on the basis of low price. They are displayed in minimal ‘no frills’ packaging, are given no/little promotional support, and are likely to have cheaper ingredients/attributes.
Holding company: A company that controls one or more other companies, normally by holding a majority of the shares of these subsidiaries. It is possible for a holding company to control a large number of companies with a combined capital very much greater than its own, since it needs to hold only half or even less of the shares of its subsidiaries.
Impulse purchasing: The purchase of an item without prior deliberation or preplanning, often in response to prominent display in the retail environment or as a result of short-term promotions.
Leader-participation model: A leadership theory that provides a set of rules to determine the form and amount of participative decision-making in different situations.
Source: Penguin Int’l Dictionary of Business & Finance
Author can be reached on: ousafrik@yahoo.com, +220 5221982/7345313
