Foreign exchange swap


Foreign exchange swap

An agreement to exchange stipulated amounts of one currency for another currency at one or more future dates.

Foreign Exchange Swap

An agreement between two parties to exchange two currencies at a certain exchange rate at a certain time in the future. For example, if a company knows that it will need British pounds in the future and another company knows that it will need U.S. dollars, they agree to swap the two at the agreed-upon exchange rate. This eliminates the risk that the exchange rate will change in a way that is disadvantageous to one party or the other. They are also called currency swaps. See also: Swap.