1. HSBC Bank USA, N.A. Trade and Supply Chain Trade & Supply Chain Foreign Exchange and Risk Management May 2010

2. Major Risks Related to International Trade  Political Risk – War, civil disturbance, or revolution – Expropriation – Inconvertibility of local currency into dollars or other hard currency. (Transfer Risk)  Commercial Risk/Business Risk –Disputes between buyer and seller. –Controlling title to goods pending payment. –Customer illiquidity or insolvency –Inability to finance company “investment” in export accounts receivable –Control of quality of goods. –Working capital tied up –Increasing reliance on bank debt.  Documentary Risk  Interest Rate Risk  Foreign Exchange Risk –Foreign Exchange Risk noted as biggest barrier to trade growth over the next six months by U.S. businesses, according to recent Trade Confidence Index

3. 3 Foreign Exchange Market  In today’s global market place, foreign exchange plays a significant role: 4 trillion U.S. dollars worth of currency is exchanged on a daily basis. –-Payments –-Investments cross-border  Prices available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  No formal exchange for currencies. Trading is done over the counter in an interbank market and via brokers.  In this highly dynamic environment, global presence, extensive footprint and local knowledge are characteristics to look for in your trade bank.

4. 4 Who Uses Foreign Exchange?  Importers/Exporters –Importers pay in the foreign currency –Exporters receive payment in foreign currency  Multinational corporations –Multinationals fund foreign subsidiaries and funds are repatriated back to parent companies  International investors –International investors hedge interest payments with forwards  Tour operators –Tour operators book foreign travel in the local currency  Schools –Schools make and receive tuition payments in foreign currency

5. 5 Why Use Foreign Exchange?  Competitive edge –Exporters enhance their customer base by allowing customers to pay in their local currency.  Improve profit margin –Build hedging cost into pricing.  Negotiate better pricing –Importers have the upper hand when they take the responsibility to pay a foreign supplier in local currency.  Reduce risk –Diversifying your international supplier base reduces the risks associated with doing business with a limited number of vendors, in a limited number of regions.

6. 6 How is Foreign Exchange Used?  Use forward pricing to negotiate sales contracts  Lock in forward pricing when sales contract is firm  Match foreign exchange product to your particular trade cycle and predicted cash flows

7. 7 Identifying Foreign Exchange Exposure  A clear understanding of your foreign exchange exposure is necessary to assess risks. Exposures arise as a result of exchange rate volatility. Understanding Foreign Exchange Exposures

8. Identifying Foreign Exchange Exposure  The main sources of foreign exchange exposure: –Paying for goods and services priced in a foreign currency, or –Receiving foreign currency for goods or services provided.  Exposures can also arise from: –Competitors having a cost base and/or selling their products in a foreign currency –Overseas manufacturing plants or subsidiaries –Overseas subsidiaries' foreign currency borrowing or surplus cash balances  Exposure can manifest itself in a number of different ways: –decreased USD cash flows or margins, –EPS or balance sheet volatility, –overseas contract cancellations,

9. 9 Developing a Strategy for Hedging & Risk Management  Understanding a company’s foreign exchange exposures allows the identification of the exposures as they occur, and an assessment of the potential impact on a company.  Companies can hedge these exposures to minimize the foreign exchange impact on their financials, cash flows, margins, EPS, etc..  There are four risk management alternatives available: –Spot Transaction. –Forward Transaction –Purchasing Vanilla Options –Structured Products (ex. Collars, Participating Forward, etc.)

10. Developing a Strategy for Hedging & Risk Management  Importance of an F/X policy –Philosophy and process for managing cross-border exposure  Cornerstones –Cash management/online banking platform –A view into F/X exposure –Trade/Supply Chain techniques –Manage payment risk –Foreign exchange policy –Manage exposure  When to consider using foreign exchange techniques –Frequency of foreign exchange trades/year –10-15/year –Trade size – min. US$ 20,000 per transaction

11. 11 What is the Bottom Line?  Hedging can eliminate the uncertainty of the FX rate that will be used by a company in the future.  A Foreign Exchange Forward contract allows a company to pay or receive foreign currency in the future at an exchange rate agreed upon today.  By locking in the rate, a company can protect profits margins and eliminate uncertainty of the value of cash flows.  A company can know exactly how many U.S. dollars they will pay or receive in the future, so they can better forecast their business’ cash flow cycle and plan operations accordingly.

12. 12 HSBC Foreign Exchange  FX business operates out of our three main centers (New York, London and Hong Kong)  Extensive geographic footprint (incorporating some 89 branches), and expertise in many local markets give us an additional and unique insight into developments all over the globe Note: * Not exhaustive lists  New York  Canada  Brazil  Argentina  Mexico  Chile  Bermuda The Americas *  London  France  Germany  Russia  Turkey  Israel  Dubai  Saudi Arabia  South Africa Europe *  Hong Kong  Japan  Australia  China  Thailand  India  Korea  Singapore Asia * 2008 Euromoney Poll HSBC is consistently ranked as one of the top banks in the world in FX. HSBC ranked #2 for Most Impressive Approach to FX, Who’s Best Where category in EMEA and Asia & Australia. We were ranked within the top 3 in 26 of the other categories which cements our overall ranking of 3rd for qualitative criteria. Top 3: GBP, HKD, CNY, Asian ccy’s, Middle East ccy’s Options Trading Strategies and new ideas Best FX-linked products Most innovative and original research and strategy EM Research and strategy Most Innovative Hedging Strategy Fwds: EM currencies, and both over and under 1yr Research and Analytics on online platforms

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