The importance of swap transactions in the evolution of the Polish currency market and the OTC interest rate derivatives market

Abstract

Objective: The article aims to present the importance of swap transactions in the evolution of the Polish currency market and the OTC interest rate derivatives market. Research Design & Methods: The theoretical considerations in the article were based on a critical analysis of the literature on the subject. In turn, the empirical part of this article was developed using numerical parameters characterizing the studied phenomenon. Findings: It cannot be unequivocally confirmed that swaps, due to their universality and design, are the most frequently used instrument of the Polish currency market and the OTC interest rate derivatives market. This is because, although, on the currency market, the main share in transactions was achieved by currency swaps, in the case of the OTC interest rate market, interest rate swap (IRS) transactions no longer record the largest share. Contribution & Value Added: The issue of swap contracts, according to the authors of the thesis, is the subject of limited interest in the Polish research literature, and this article was to be a response to the need to systematize knowledge about these instruments and a synthetic presentation of their development.

Keywords

• swap
• currency market
• derivatives market
• futures market
• financial risks