Dictionary_of_Banking_and_Finance

standby loan / st ndba ləυn/ noun a loan which is available if needed

standing / st nd ŋ/ noun a good reputation The financial standing of a company. company of good standing very reputable company

standing order / st nd ŋ ɔ də/ noun an order written by a customer asking a bank to pay money regularly to an account I pay my subscription by standing order.

standing settlement instructions / st nd ŋ set(ə)lmənt n-

str kʃ(ə)nz/ plural noun instructions given by one bank to other banks as to the procedure to be followed when making payments to it. Abbreviation SSIs

standstill agreement / st ndst l ə ri mənt/ noun an agreement be-

tween a borrower and a lender that it is better to rengotiate the terms of the loan than for the lender to foreclose on the property used as security

staple commodity / ste p(ə)l kə-

mɒd ti/ noun a basic food or raw material

start /stɑ t/ noun the beginning verb to begin to do something to start a business from cold or from scratch to begin a new business, with no previous turnover to base it on

starting / stɑ t ŋ/ noun the act of beginning

starting date / stɑ t ŋ de t/ noun a date on which something starts

starting salary / stɑ t ŋ s ləri/ noun a salary for an employee when he or she starts work with a company

start-up / stɑ t p/ noun 1. the beginning of a new company or new product

We went into the red for the first time because of the start-up costs of the new subsidiary in the USA. 2. a new, usually small business that is just beginning its operations, especially a new business supported by venture capital and in a sector where new technologies are used

start-up financing / stɑ t pfa n ns ŋ/ noun the first stage in financing a new project, which is followed by several rounds of investment capital as the project gets under way

(NOTE: The plural is start-ups.)

state /ste t/ noun 1. an independent country 2. a semi-independent section

of a federal country (such as the USA) 3. the government of a country verb to say clearly The document states that all revenue has to be declared to the tax office.

‘…the unions had argued that public sector pay rates had slipped behind rates applying in state and local government areas’ [Australian Financial Review]

state bank /ste t b ŋk/ noun in the USA, a commercial bank licensed by the authorities of a state, and not necessarily a member of the Federal Reserve system (as opposed to a national bank)

state-controlled / ste t kən trəυld/ adjective run by the state state-controlled television

state enterprise / ste t entəpra z/ noun a company run by the state

statement / ste tmənt/ noun 1. something said or written which describes or explains something clearly to make a false statement to give wrong details statement of expenses a detailed list of money spent 2. statement (of account) a list of invoices and credits and debits sent by a supplier to a customer at the end of each month monthly or quarterly statement a statement which is sent every month or every quarter by the bank statement balance, balance per statement a balance in an account on a given date as shown in a bank statement

statement of affairs / ste tmənt əv ə feəz/ noun a financial statement drawn up when a person is insolvent

Statements of Standard Accounting Practice / ste tmənts əvst ndəd ə kaυnt ŋ pr kt s/ plural

noun rules laid down by the Accounting Standards Board for the preparation of financial statements. Abbreviation

SSAPs

statement stuffer / ste tməntst fə/ noun an advertising leaflet enclosed with the monthly bank statement

state monopoly /ste t mə nɒpəli/ noun a situation where the state is the only supplier of a product or service

state of indebtedness / ste t əv

n det dnəs/ noun the fact of being in debt, owing money

state-owned / ste t əυnd/ adjective owned by the state or by a state

‘…state-owned banks cut their prime rates a percentage point to 11%’ [Wall Street Journal]

state-owned industry / ste t əυndndəstri/ noun an industry which is

nationalised

state ownership /ste t əυnəʃ p/ noun a situation in which an industry is nationalised

statistical /stə t st k(ə)l/ adjective based on statistics statistical information They took two weeks to provide the statistical analysis of the opin- ion-poll data.

statistical discrepancy /stə-

t st k(ə)l d skrepənsi/ noun the amount by which sets of figures differ

statistician / st t st ʃ(ə)n/ noun a person who analyses statistics

statistics for the previous six months Government trade statistics show an increase in imports. The statistics on unemployment did not take school-leavers into account. (NOTE: takes a plural verb) 2. the study of facts in the form of figures (NOTE: takes

a singular verb)

status / ste təs/ noun 1. the importance of someone or something relative to others, especially someone’s position in society the chairman’s car is a status symbol the size of the car shows how important the chairman is loss of status the act of becoming less important in a group 2. legal status legal position

status inquiry / ste təs n kwa əri/ noun an act of checking on a customer’s credit rating

status quo / ste təs kwəυ/ noun the state of things as they are now The contract does not alter the status quo. The union tried to alter the status quo by forcing the management to change its policies.

statute / st tʃu t/ noun an established written law, especially an Act of Parliament

statute-barred / st tʃu t bɑ d/ adjective referring to legal action which cannot be pursued because the time limit for it has expired

statute book / st tʃu t bυk/ noun all laws passed by Parliament which are still in force

statute law / st tʃu t lɔ / noun same as statute

statute of limitations / st tʃu t əvl m te ʃ(ə)nz/ noun a law which

allows only a certain amount of time (usually six years) for someone to start legal proceedings to claim property or compensation for damage

statutory / st tʃυt(ə)ri/ adjective fixed by law There is a statutory period of probation of thirteen weeks. Are all the employees aware of their statutory rights?

statutory holiday / st tʃυt(ə)rihɒl de / noun a holiday which is fixed by law The office is closed for the statutory Christmas holiday.

statutory regulations

/ st tʃυt(ə)ri re jυ le ʃ(ə)nz/ plural noun regulations covering financial dealings which are based on Acts of Parliament, such as the Financial Services Act (as opposed to the rules of self-regulatory organisations which are non-statutory)

stay of execution / ste əv eks -

kju ʃ(ə)n/ noun the temporary stopping of a legal order The court granted the company a two-week stay of execution.

steadily / sted li/ adverb in a regular or continuous way Output increased steadily over the last two quarters. The company has steadily increased its market share.

steadiness / sted nəs/ noun the fact of being firm, not fluctuating The steadiness of the markets is due to the government’s intervention.

steady / stedi/ adjective continuing in a regular way The company can point to a steady increase in profits. The market stayed steady in spite of the collapse of the bank. There is a steady demand for computers. He has a steady job in the supermarket. verb to become firm, to stop fluctuating The markets steadied after last week’s fluctuations. Prices steadied on the commodity markets. The government’s figures had a steadying influence on the exchange rate.

steep /sti p/ adjective referring to an increase which is very great and usually sudden or a price which is very high a steep increase in interest charges a steep decline in overseas sales

step /step/ noun a movement forward

Becoming assistant to the MD is a step up the promotion ladder. in step with moving at the same rate as The pound rose in step with the dollar. out of step with not moving at the same rate as The pound was out of step with other European currencies. Wages are out of step with the cost of living.

sterling / st% l ŋ/ noun a standard currency used in the United Kingdom to quote prices in sterling or to quote sterling prices

‘…it is doubtful that British goods will price themselves back into world markets as long as sterling labour costs continue to rise faster than in competitor countries’ [Sunday Times]

sterling area / st% l ŋ eəriə/ noun formerly, an area of the world where the pound sterling was the main trading currency

sterling balances / st% l ŋ

b ləns z/ plural noun a country’s trade balances expressed in pounds sterling

sterling crisis / st% l ŋ kra s s/ noun a fall in the exchange rate of the pound sterling

sterling index / st% l ŋ ndeks/ noun an index which shows the current value of sterling against a basket of currencies

sterling silver / st% l ŋ s lvə/ noun an official quality of silver for use in articles made and sold (it is 92.5% pure silver)

stimulate / st mjυle t/ verb to make something or someone become more active What can the government do to stimulate the economy? The aim of the subsidies is to stimulate trade with the Middle East.

stimulus / st mjυləs/ noun a thing which encourages activity (NOTE: The

plural is stimuli.)

stipulate / st pjυle t/ verb to state something specifically as a binding condition in a contract to stipulate that the contract should run for five years They found it difficult to pay the stipulated charges. The company failed to

pay on the date stipulated in the contract. The contract stipulates that the seller pays the buyer’s legal costs.

stipulation / st pjυ le ʃ(ə)n/ noun a condition in a contract The contract has a stipulation that the new manager has to serve a three-month probationary period.

stock /stɒk/ noun 1. the quantity of goods for sale in a warehouse or retail outlet to buy a shop with stock at valuation when buying a shop, to pay a price for the stock which is the same as its value as estimated by the valuer to purchase stock at valuation to pay the price that stock has been valued at to take stock to count the items in a warehouse 2. shares in a company

‘US crude oil stocks fell last week by nearly 2.5m barrels’ [Financial Times]

‘…the stock rose to over $20 a share, higher than the $18 bid’ [Fortune]

stockbroker / stɒkbrəυkə/ noun a person who buys or sells shares for clients

stockbroker’s commission /stɒk-

brəυkəz kə m ʃ(ə)n/ noun the payment to a broker for a deal carried out on behalf of a client

stockbroking / stɒkbrəυk ŋ/ noun the business of dealing in shares for clients a stockbroking firm

stock certificate / stɒk sə t f kət/ noun a document proving that someone owns stock in a company

stock code / stɒk kəυd/ noun a set of numbers and letters which refer to an item of stock

stock control / stɒk kən trəυl/ noun the process of making sure that the correct level of stock is maintained, to be able to meet demand while keeping the costs of holding stock to a minimum

(NOTE: The US term is inventory control.)

stock controller / stɒk kən trəυlə/ noun a person who notes movements of stock

stock depreciation / stɒk d pri ʃi-

e ʃ(ə)n/ noun a reduction in value of stock which is held in a warehouse for some time

stock dividend / stɒk d v dend/ noun US a dividend in the form of stock (i.e. a bonus issue of shares)

Stock Exchange / stɒk ks-

tʃe nd$/ noun a place where stocks and shares are bought and sold He works on the Stock Exchange. Shares in the company are traded on the Stock Exchange.

‘…the news was favourably received on the Sydney Stock Exchange, where the shares gained 40 cents to A$9.80’ [Financial Times]

Stock Exchange Automated

Quotations System /stɒk ks-

tʃe nd$ ɔ təme t d kwəυ te ʃ(ə)nzs stəm/ noun full form of SEAQ

Stock Exchange Council / stɒk

ks tʃe nd$ kaυnsəl/ noun a committee which runs the London International Stock Exchange and regulates the way in which its members work

Stock Exchange Electronic Trading System /stɒk ks tʃe nd$elektrɒn k tre d ŋ s stəm/ noun the

London Stock Exchange’s electronic share trading system in major shares. Buyers and sellers are automatically matched by computer. Abbreviation

Sets

Stock Exchange listing / stɒk ks-

tʃe nd$ l st ŋ/ noun the fact of being on the official list of shares which can be bought or sold on the Stock Exchange The company is planning to obtain a Stock Exchange listing.

Stock Exchange operation / stɒk

ks tʃe nd$ ɒpə re ʃ(ə)n/ noun buying or selling of shares on the Stock Exchange

stock figures / stɒk f əz/ plural noun details of how many goods are in the warehouse or store

stockholder / stɒkhəυldə/ noun a person who holds shares in a company

stockholding / stɒkhəυld ŋ/ noun the shares in a company held by someone

stock-in-trade / stɒk n tre d/ noun goods held by a business for sale

stock jobber / stɒkd$ɒbə/ noun formerly, a person who bought and sold shares from other traders on the Stock Exchange

stock jobbing / stɒkd$ɒb ŋ/ noun formerly, the business of buying and selling shares from other traders on the Stock Exchange

stock level / stɒk lev(ə)l/ noun the quantity of goods kept in stock We try to keep stock levels low during the summer.

stock market / stɒk mɑ k t/ noun a place where shares are bought and sold (i.e. a stock exchange) stock market price or price on the stock market

stock market launch / stɒkmɑ k t lɔ ntʃ/ noun the occasion when shares in a new company are first sold on the Stock Exchange

stock market manipulation /stɒkmɑ k t mə n pjυ le ʃ(ə)n/ noun the

practice of trying to influence the price of shares by buying or selling in order to give the impression that the shares are widely traded

stock market manipulator / stɒkmɑ k t mə n pjυle tə/ noun a person

who tries to influence the price of shares in his or her own favour

stockmarket rating / stɒkmɑ k tre t ŋ/ noun the price of a share on the stock market, which shows how investors and financial advisers generally consider the value of the company

stock market valuation /stɒkmɑ k t v lju e ʃ(ə)n/ noun a value

of a company based on the current market price of its shares

stock mutual funds /stɒkmju tʃuəl f ndz/ plural noun mutual

funds where the money is invested in corporate stocks as opposed to bonds or government securities

stock option / stɒk ɒpʃən/ noun a right to buy shares at a cheap price given by a company to its employees

stockout / stɒkəυt/ noun a situation where an item is out of stock

stock picker / stɒk p kə/ noun a person whose job is to choose which shares to buy

stockpicking / stɒkp k ŋ/ noun the task of making a choice as to which shares to buy (NOTE: The counterpart,

deciding how much money to spend on shares, is called asset allocation.)

stock-purchasing loans / stɒkp% tʃ s ŋ ləυnz/ plural noun loans

from a company to members of staff to allow them to buy shares in the company

stock quote / stɒk kwəυt/ noun a current price of a share on a stock exchange

stocks and shares / stɒks ənʃeəz/ plural noun shares in ordinary companies

stocktaking / stɒkte k ŋ/, stocktake / stɒkte k/ noun the count-

ing of goods in stock at the end of an accounting period The warehouse is closed for the annual stocktaking.

stocktaking sale / stɒkte k ŋ se l/ noun a sale of goods cheaply to clear a warehouse before stocktaking

stock transfer form / stɒktr nsf% fɔ m/ noun a form to be

signed by the person transferring shares

stock turn /stɒk t% n/, stock turnround /stɒk t% nraυnd/, stock turnover / stɒk t% nəυvə/ noun the

total value of stock sold in a year divided by the average value of goods in stock

stock valuation / stɒl v lju-

e ʃ(ə)n/ noun an estimation of the value of stock at the end of an accounting period

stop /stɒp/ noun a situation where someone is not supplying or not paying something account on stop an account which is not supplied because it has not paid its latest invoices We put their account on stop and sued them for the money they owed. to put a stop on a cheque to tell the bank not to pay a cheque which you have written verb

to stop an account not to supply an account any more on credit because bills have not been paid to stop payments not to make any further payments

stop-go /stɒp əυ/ noun an economic policy leading to short periods of expansion followed by short periods of squeeze

stop-loss order /stɒp lɒs ɔ də/ noun an instruction to a stockbroker to sell a share if the price falls to a certain level (NOTE: The US term is stop or-

der.)

stoppage / stɒp d$/ noun a sum of money taken regularly from an employee’s wages for insurance, tax, etc.

storage capacity / stɔ r d$ kə-

p s ti/ noun the space available for storage

store card / stɔ kɑ d/ noun a credit card issued by a large department store, which can only be used for purchases in that store

straddle / str d(ə)l/ noun 1. a spread, the difference between bid and offer price 2. the act of buying a put option and a call option at the same time

straight bonds / stre t bɒndz/ plural noun normal fixed-interest bonds which can be redeemed at a certain date

straight line depreciation / stre t la n d priʃi e ʃ(ə)n/ noun depreciation

calculated by dividing the cost of an asset, less its remaining value, by the number of years it is likely to be used

straight paper /stre t pe pə/ noun same as straight bonds

straights /stre ts/ plural noun same as straight bonds

Straits Times index /stre ts ta mzndeks/ an index of prices on the Sin-

gapore Stock Exchange

strapped /str pt/ adjective strapped for cash short of money

street /stri t/ noun a road in a town

Their new address is 25 Broad Street. the Street US Wall Street (informal)

street directory / stri t da -

rekt(ə)ri/ noun a list of people living in a street; a map of a town which lists all the streets in alphabetical order in an index

street name / stri t ne m/ noun a nominee name for holding securities

street price / stri t pra s/ noun same as retail price

strength /streŋθ/ noun the fact of being strong, or being at a high level the underlying strength of the market The company took advantage of the strength of the demand for mobile phones. The strength of the pound increases the possibility of high interest rates. (NOTE:

The opposite is weakness.)

strike /stra k/ verb to strike a bargain with someone to come to an agreement a deal was struck at £25 a unit we agreed the price of £25 a unit

strike price / stra k pra s/, striking price / stra k ŋ pra s/ noun 1. a price

at which a new issue of shares is offered for sale 2. the lowest selling price when selling a new issue of shares by tender (applicants who tendered at a higher

price will get shares; those who tendered at a lower price will not)

strip /str p/ noun 1. a band of a colour.

magnetic strip 2. US an action of separating coupons from a bond

strong /strɒŋ/ adjective with a lot of force or strength This Christmas saw a strong demand for mobile phones. The company needs a strong chairman.

‘…everybody blames the strong dollar for US trade problems’ [Duns Business Month]

‘…in a world of floating exchange rates the dollar is strong because of capital inflows rather than weak because of the nation’s trade deficit’ [Duns Business Month]

strongbox / strɒŋbɒks/ noun a heavy metal box which cannot be opened easily, in which valuable documents and money can be kept

strong currency /strɒŋ k rənsi/ noun a currency which has a high value against other currencies

strong market /strɒŋ mɑ k t/ noun a market where prices are moving up

strong pound /strɒŋ paυnd/ noun a pound which is high against other currencies

strongroom / strɒŋru m/ noun a special room (in a bank) where valuable documents, money and gold can be kept

structural / str ktʃ(ə)rəl/ adjective referring to a structure to make structural changes in a company

structural unemployment

/ str ktʃ(ə)rəl n m plɔ mənt/ noun unemployment caused by the changing structure of an industry or the economy

structure / str ktʃə/ noun the way in which something is organised the price structure in the small car marketthe career structure within a corporation The paper gives a diagram of the company’s organisational structure. The company is reorganising its discount structure. capital structure of a company way in which a company’s capital is set up

stub /st b/ noun a slip of paper left after writing a cheque, an invoice or a receipt, as a record of the deal which has taken place

student loan / stju d(ə)nt ləυn/ noun a loan made to a student to help him or her through university (the loan is repayable later from earnings)

stuffer / st fə/ noun advertising material that is put in an envelope for mailing

style /sta l/ noun a way of doing or making something a new style of product old-style management techniques Managers are expected to stick to a specific style of investing.

sub /s b/ noun 1. wages paid in advance 2. same as subscription

sub- /s b/ prefix under or less important

sub-account / s b ə kaυnt/ noun one of several separate investment accounts on which a variable annuity is based. annuity

sub-agency / s b e d$əns / noun a small agency which is part of a large agency

sub-agent / s b e d$ənt/ noun a person who is in charge of a sub-agency

subcontract noun /s b kɒntr kt/ a contract between the main contractor for a whole project and another firm who will do part of the work They have been awarded the subcontract for all the electrical work in the new building. We will put the electrical work out to subcontract. verb / s bkən-

tr kt/ (of a main contractor) to agree with a company that they will do part of the work for a project The electrical work has been subcontracted to Smith Ltd.

subcontractor / s bkən tr ktə/ noun a company which has a contract to do work for a main contractor

subject to / s bd$ kt tu / adjective

1. depending on the contract is subject to government approval the contract will be valid only if it is approved by the government offer subject to availability the offer is valid only if the goods are available 2. these articles are subject to import tax import tax has to be paid on these articles

sublease noun / s bli s/ a lease from a tenant to another tenant They signed a sublease for the property. verb

/s b li s/ to lease a leased property from another tenant They subleased a small office in the centre of town.

sublessee /s ble si / noun a person or company that takes a property on a sublease

sublessor /s ble sɔ / noun a tenant who leases a leased property to another tenant

sublet /s b let/ verb to let a leased property to another tenant We have sublet part of our office to a financial consultancy. (NOTE: subletting –

sublet)

subordinated loan /sə bɔ d nət dləυn/ noun a loan which ranks after all other borrowings as regards payment of interest or repayment of capital

subscribe /səb skra b/ verb to subscribe for shares, to subscribe to a share issue to apply for shares in a new company

subscriber /səb skra bə/ noun subscriber to a share issue a person who has applied for shares in a new company

subscription /səb skr pʃən/ noun 1. money paid in advance for a series of issues of a magazine, for membership of a society or for access to information on a website Did you remember to pay the subscription to the computer magazine?She forgot to renew her club subscription. 2. subscription to a new share issue application to buy shares in a new company

subscription list /səb skr pʃən l st/ noun a list of subscribers to a new share issue

subscription price /səb skr pʃən pra s/ noun a price at which new shares in an existing company are offered for sale

subsidiary /səb s diəri/ adjective which is less important They agreed to most of the conditions in the contract but queried one or two subsidiary items.

noun same as subsidiary company

Most of the group profit was contributed by the subsidiaries in the Far East.

subsidiary company /səb s diərik mp(ə)ni/ noun a company which is more than 50% owned by a holding company, and where the holding company controls the board of directors

subsidise / s bs da z/, subsidize verb to help by giving money The government has refused to subsidise the car industry.

subsidised accommodation

/ s bs da zd ə kɒmə de ʃ(ə)n/ noun

cheap accommodation which is partly paid for by an employer or a local authority

subsidy / s bs di/ noun 1. money given to help something which is not profitable The industry exists on government subsidies. The government has increased its subsidy to the car industry. 2. money given by a government to make something cheaper the subsidy on rail transport (NOTE: The plural

is subsidies.)

substantial /səb st nʃəl/ adjective large or important

subtenancy /s b tenənsi/ noun an agreement to sublet a property

subtenant /s b tenənt/ noun a person or company to which a property has been sublet

subtotal / s b təυt(ə)l/ noun the total of one section of a complete set of figures He added all the subtotals to make a grand total.

subtract /səb tr kt/ verb to take away something from a total The credit note should be subtracted from the figure for total sales. If the profits from the Far Eastern operations are subtracted, you will see that the group has not been profitable in the European market.

sub-underwriter / s b ndəra tə/ noun a company which underwrites an issue, taking shares from the main underwriters

subvention /səb venʃən/ noun same as subsidy

succeed /sək si d/ verb 1. to do well, to be profitable The company has succeeded best in the overseas markets. His business has succeeded more than he had expected. 2. to do what was planned She succeeded in passing her computing test. They succeeded in putting their rivals out of business.

success /sək ses/ noun 1. an act of doing something well The launch of the new model was a great success. The company has had great success in the Japanese market. 2. an act of doing what was intended We had no success in trying to sell the lease. He has been looking for a job for six months, but with no success.

suitor / su tə/ noun a person or company that wants to buy another

sum1 /s m/ noun 1. a quantity of money A sum of money was stolen from the human resources office. He lost large sums on the Stock Exchange.She received the sum of £5000 in compensation. the sum insured the largest amount which an insurer will pay under the terms of an insurance 2. the total of a series of figures added together The sum of the various subtotals is £18,752.

sum2 /s m/ noun a unit of currency used in Uzbekistan

sums chargeable to the reserve

/s mz tʃɑ d$əb(ə)l tə ðə r z% v/ plural noun sums which can be debited to a company’s reserves

Sunday closing / s nde kləυz ŋ/ noun the practice of not opening a shop on Sundays

sundries / s ndriz/ plural noun various small additional items, often of little value, that are not included under any of the main headings in accounts

sundry / s ndri/ adjective various

sunrise industries / s nra zndəstriz/ plural noun companies in

the fields of electronics and other high-tech areas

sunset industries / s nsetndəstriz/ plural noun old-style indus-

tries which are being replaced by new technology

superannuation / su pər nju-

e ʃ(ə)n/ noun a pension paid to someone who is too old or ill to work any more

supplementary benefit / s pl -

ment(ə)ri ben f t/ noun formerly, payments from the government to people with very low incomes. It was replaced by Income Support.

supplier /sə pla ə/ noun a person or company that supplies or sells goods or services We use the same office equipment supplier for all our stationery purchases. They are major suppliers of spare parts to the car industry. Also called producer

supply /sə pla / noun the act of providing something which is needed

supply and demand /sə pla ən d -

mɑ nd/ noun the amount of a product

which is available and the amount which is wanted by customers

Supply Bill /sə pla b l/ noun a bill for providing money for government requirements

supply estimates /sə plaest məts/ plural noun British government expenditure which is voted by Parliament

supply price /sə pla pra s/ noun the price at which something is provided

supply shock /sə pla ʃɒk/ noun a sudden rise in productivity which gives higher output and profits without inflation

supply-side economics /sə pla sa d i kə nɒm ks/ plural noun an

economic theory that governments should encourage producers and suppliers of goods by cutting taxes, rather than encourage demand by making more money available in the economy (NOTE: takes a singular verb)

support /sə pɔ t/ noun 1. actions or money intended to help someone or something The government has provided support to the car industry. We have no financial support from the banks. 2. agreement or encouragement

The chairman has the support of the committee. verb 1. to give money to help someone or something The government is supporting the car industry to the tune of $2m per annum. We hope the banks will support us during the expansion period. to support a share price to buy shares in order to help the price remain at the current level or even rise 2. to encourage someone, or to agree with someone She hopes the other members of the committee will support her. The market will not support another price increase.

support level /sə pɔ t lev(ə)l/ noun a level below which a share, a commodity or the stock market will not fall, because of general support from investors

support manager /sə pɔ tm n d$ə/ noun a manager of the back office of a securities firm

support point /sə pɔ t pɔ nt/ noun same as support level

support price /sə pɔ t pra s/ noun a price (in the EU) at which a government will buy agricultural produce to stop the price falling

surcharge / s% tʃɑ d$/ noun an extra charge

surety / ʃυərəti/ noun 1. a person who guarantees that someone will do something to stand surety for someone 2. deeds, share certificates, etc., deposited as security for a loan

surplus / s% pləs/ noun 1. more of something than is needed 2. an amount of money remaining after all liabilities have been met to absorb a surplus to take a surplus into a larger amount adjective more than is needed Profit figures are lower than planned because of surplus labour. Some of the machines may have to be sold off as there is surplus production capacity. We are proposing to put our surplus staff on short time.

‘Both imports and exports reached record levels in the latest year. This generated a $371 million trade surplus in June, the seventh consecutive monthly surplus and close to market expectations’

[Dominion (Wellington, New Zealand)]

surrender /sə rendə/ noun the act of giving up of an insurance policy before the contracted date for maturity verb

to surrender a policy to give up an insurance policy before the date on which it matures

surrender charge /sə rendə tʃɑ d$/, surrender fee /sə rendə fi /

noun a charge levied when someone withdraws money invested before the date allowed (this is to deter early withdrawals)

surrender value /sə rendə v lju / noun the money which an insurer will pay if an insurance policy is given up

surtax / s% t ks/ noun an extra tax on high income

surveillance /sə ve ləns/ noun a careful watch over people or buildings

surveillance camera /sə ve lənsk m(ə)rə/ noun a camera which takes photographs of people in a bank

sushi bond / su ʃi bɒnd/ noun a bond issued in a foreign currency by a Japanese corporation. samurai bond,

shogun bond

suspend /sə spend/ verb to stop doing something for a time We have suspended payments while we are waiting for news from our agent. Sailings have been suspended until the weather

gets better. Work on the construction project has been suspended. The management decided to suspend negotiations.

suspense account /sə spens ə-

kaυnt/ noun an account into which payments are put temporarily when the accountant cannot be sure where they should be entered

suspension /sə spenʃən/ noun an act of stopping something for a time

There has been a temporary suspension of payments. We are trying to avoid a suspension of deliveries during the strike.

swap /swɒp/ noun an exchange of one thing for another verb to exchange one thing for another He swapped his old car for a new motorcycle.

swap arrangement / swɒp ə-

re nd$mənt/ noun an arrangement between central banks to allow each other credit in their respective currencies so as to make currency transactions easier

swaption / swɒpʃən/ noun an option to arrange an interest rate swap at some time in the future

sweetener / swi t(ə)nə/ noun an incentive offered to help persuade somebody to take a particular course of action, a bribe (informal)

SWIFT abbreviation Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications

Swiss franc /sw s fr ŋk/ noun a unit of currency used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (normally considered a very stable currency)

switch /sw tʃ/ verb to change, especially to change investment money from one type of investment to another

Switch card / sw tʃ kɑ d/ noun a card linked to the UK Switch network but, unlike a credit card, when you pay for goods and services with a Switch card, the money leaves your account immediately

syndicate noun / s nd kət/ a group of people or companies working together to make money a German finance syndicate verb / s nd ke t/ to arrange for a large loan to be underwritten by several international banks

‘…over the past few weeks, companies raising new loans from international banks have been forced to pay more, and an unusually high

number of attempts to syndicate loans among banks has failed’ [Financial Times]

synergy / s nəd$i/ noun the process of producing greater effects by joining forces than by acting separately There is considerable synergy between the two companies.

system / s stəm/ noun an arrangement or organisation of things which work together Our accounting system has worked well in spite of the large increase in orders. What system is being used for filing data on personnel?

to operate a quota system to regulate supplies by fixing quantities which are allowed We arrange our distribution using a quota system – each agent is allowed only a specific number of units.

systems analysis / s stəmz ə-

n ləs s/ noun the process of using a computer to suggest how a company can work more efficiently by analysing the way in which it works at present

systems analyst / s stəmznəl st/ noun a person who specialises in systems analysis