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San Leandro Investment Policy Statement Page 12 of 15 <br />Appendix B <br />Glossary of Investment Terms <br />AGENCIES. Shorthand market terminology for any obligation issued by a government-sponsored <br />entity (GSE), or a federally related institution. Most obligations of GSEs are not guaranteed <br />by the full faith and credit of the US government. Examples are: <br />FFCB. The Federal Farm Credit Bank System provides credit and liquidity in the agricultural <br />industry. FFCB issues discount notes and bonds. <br />FHLB. The Federal Home Loan Bank provides credit and liquidity in the housing market. <br />FHLB issues discount notes and bonds. <br />FHLMC. Like FHLB, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation provides credit and <br />liquidity in the housing market. FHLMC, also called “FreddieMac” issues discount notes, <br />bonds and mortgage pass-through securities. <br />FNMA. Like FHLB and FreddieMac, the Federal National Mortgage Association was <br />established to provide credit and liquidity in the housing market. FNMA, also known as <br />“FannieMae,” issues discount notes, bonds and mortgage pass-through securities. <br />GNMA. The Government National Mortgage Association, known as “GinnieMae,” issues <br />mortgage pass-through securities, which are guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the <br />US Government. <br />PEFCO. The Private Export Funding Corporation assists exporters. Obligations of PEFCO <br />are not guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the US government. <br />TVA. The Tennessee Valley Authority provides flood control and power and promotes <br />development in portions of the Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi River valleys. TVA <br />currently issues discount notes and bonds. <br />ASKED. The price at which a seller offers to sell a security. <br />ASSET BACKED SECURITIES. Securities supported by pools of installment loans or leases or by pools <br />of revolving lines of credit. <br />AVERAGE LIFE. In mortgage-related investments, including CMOs, the average time to expected <br />receipt of principal payments, weighted by the amount of principal expected. <br />BANKER’S ACCEPTANCE. A money market instrument created to facilitate international trade <br />transactions. It is highly liquid and safe because the risk of the trade transaction is transferred <br />to the bank which “accepts” the obligation to pay the investor. <br />BENCHMARK. A comparison security or portfolio. A performance benchmark is a partial market index, <br />which reflects the mix of securities allowed under a specific investment policy. <br />BID. The price at which a buyer offers to buy a security. <br />BROKER. A broker brings buyers and sellers together for a transaction for which the broker receives <br />a commission. A broker does not sell securities from his own position. <br />CALLABLE. A callable security gives the issuer the option to call it from the investor prior to its <br />maturity. The main cause of a call is a decline in interest rates. If interest rates decline since <br />an issuer issues securities, it will likely call its current securities and reissue them at a lower <br />rate of interest. Callable securities have reinvestment risk as the investor may receive its <br />principal back when interest rates are lower than when the investment was initially made. <br />CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT (CD). A time deposit with a specific maturity evidenced by a certificate. <br />Large denomination CDs may be marketable. <br />CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT ACCOUNT REGISTRY SYSTEM (CDARS). A private placement service that <br />allows local agencies to purchase more than $250,000 in CDs from a single financial <br />institution (must be a participating institution of CDARS) while still maintaining FDIC <br />insurance coverage. CDARS is currently the only entity providing this service. CDARS <br />facilitates the trading of deposits between the California institution and other participating <br />institutions in amounts that are less than $250,000 each, so that FDIC coverage is <br />maintained. <br />35