An Analysis of Transfer Risk in Comparison to Sovereign Risk

Master's Thesis from the year 2006 in the subject Economics - Monetary theory and policy, grade: 1,6, Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, language: English, abstract: Transfer risk is the risk that a non-sovereign entity, which is able and willing to service its foreign currency obligations, cannot obtain the required currency or cannot transfer this money to the receiver abroad. This transfer inability is caused by the imposition of restrictions on convertibility or capital transfers by the government. Transfer risk applies to all types of international investments, especially in emerging market countries. Due to this, it is more important than ever in these days of globalization. The New Basel Capital Accords require the consideration of transfer risk, too. The author Philipp Hauger describes the different types of risk occurring in international borrowings and investments. The political and corporate determinants of transfer risk are examined. The book illustrates the reasons why monetary unions reduce the risk of a transfer event, even though they have no influence on the sovereign risk. In addition, the author details how transfer risk is assessed by international professionals and describes two interesting approaches to estimate transfer risk in a quantitative way. This book is intended for professionals and students who are interested in the risks of international investments and for everybody working in international business, who has to differentiate between sovereign risk and the risk of a corporate default.