Finance vocabulary
Talk markets clearly. 28 hand-written terms with real workplace examples.
Learn finance terms every day.
One hand-written term. A real workplace example. Thirty seconds before your day gets loud.
IPO
Initial public offering. A private company sells shares to the public for the first time.
Liquidity
How quickly an asset can be bought or sold without moving the price much.
Bid-Ask Spread
The gap between the highest buy price and the lowest sell price in a market.
Settlement
Final exchange of cash and securities after a trade is agreed.
ACH
Automated Clearing House network for batch bank transfers in the United States.
Wire Transfer
Same-day electronic transfer of funds between banks, often used for large or urgent payments.
SWIFT
Messaging network banks use to send secure payment instructions across borders.
Nostro Account
A bank's account held at another bank, often in foreign currency for settlements.
KYC
Know Your Customer checks to verify identity and assess risk before onboarding clients.
AML
Anti-money laundering controls that detect and report suspicious financial activity.
Value at Risk
Statistical estimate of maximum likely loss over a horizon at a given confidence level.
Stress Testing
Scenario analysis that models portfolio losses under severe market shocks.
Core Ledger
System of record for balances, postings, and account history at a bank or fintech.
API Banking
Programmatic access to banking services such as payments, balances, and account data.
Open Banking
Framework where customers share account data with third parties through secure APIs.
Reconciliation
Process of matching internal records to bank or counterparty statements.
DCF
Discounted cash flow model that values an asset from projected future cash flows.
EBITDA
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. A common operating profit proxy.
Cap Table
Table showing ownership stakes, classes of shares, and dilution across investors.
Term Sheet
Non-binding summary of key deal terms in a financing or M&A transaction.
Trade Lifecycle
Stages from order placement through execution, confirmation, settlement, and reporting.
T+1 Settlement
Settlement one business day after trade date for eligible securities.
Middle Office
Team between front office trading and back office operations. Handles risk, confirmations, and P&L support.
Failed Trade
Trade that did not settle on schedule due to missing securities, cash, or instructions.
Buy-Side
Institutions that invest capital, such as asset managers, pension funds, and hedge funds.
Sell-Side
Banks and brokers that sell research, trade execution, and underwriting to investors.
Front Office
Client-facing revenue roles such as trading, sales, and investment banking.
Back Office
Operations teams that settle trades, reconcile accounts, and support reporting.
Building toward a role? Browse career pathways that map terms to jobs.