Personal Finance — page 7 of 19

Personal Finance terms

601. Escrow Analysis The periodic examination of escrow accounts by a mortgage company to verify that monthly deposits are sufficient to pay taxes, insurance, and other…
602. Estate Your estate is what you leave behind, financially speaking, when you die. To figure its worth, your assets are valued to determine your gross estate.
603. Estate Account An account held in the name of a decedent that is administered by an executor or administrator of the estate.
604. Estate tax Your estate owes federal estate tax on the value of your taxable estate if the estate is larger than the amount you are permitted to leave to your heirs…
605. Ethics Agreement An ethics agreement is an arrangement that an employee or nominee makes with her agency to alleviate an actual or potential conflict of interest.
606. Ethics Counselor (EC) or Ethics Official An agency employee who is delegated agency ethics program responsibilities. In DoD, an EC is an attorney appointed in writing to perform specific ethics…
607. Euro The euro is the common currency of the European Monetary Union (EMU). The national currencies of the participating countries were replaced with euro coins…
608. Eurobond A eurobond is an international bond sold outside of the country in whose currency it is denominated, or issued.
609. Eurocurrency Eurocurrency is any major currency that is deposited by a national government or corporation based outside the country where the bank receiving the funds…
610. Eurodollar Eurodollars are US currency deposited in banks outside the US, usually, but not always in Europe.
611. European Central Bank (ECB) The European Central Bank is the central bank of the European Monetary Union (EMU), whose member countries use the euro as their currency.
612. European style option A listed option that you can exercise only on the last trading day before the expiration date is called a European style option whether it trades on a US…
613. Everyday debit card transactions Purchases made with your debit card on a day-to-day basis (excludes all checks and automatic bill payments)
614. Ex-dividend Without dividend. The buyer of shares quoted ex-dividend will not receive an already declared dividend.
615. Excepted Investment Fund (EIF) An EIF is a basic concept that reduces the degree of disclosure of certain investments.
616. Excepted Trust A trust in which a filer has a vested interest, but no knowledge of the holdings.
617. Exception Hold A period of time that allows the banks to exceed the maximum hold periods defined in the Expedited Funds Availability Act.
618. Excess contribution An excess contribution occurs when the salary deferrals or matching contributions of highly compensated employees are higher than the amounts permitted by…
619. Exchange An exchange generally occurs when one company acquires another. The shareholders of the acquired company are often given the option to sell their shares…
620. Exchange Rate The amount a dollar is worth when you exchange it for money from another country.
621. Exchange traded notes Exchange traded notes (ETNs) are debt securities issued by a financial institution, listed on a stock exchange, and traded in the secondary market.
622. Exchange-traded fund (ETF) Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are listed on a stock exchange and trade like stock.
623. excise tax A tax on the sale or use of specific products or transactions.
624. Exclusion A contractual provision in an insurance policy that denies or restricts coverage for certain perils, persons, property or locations.
625. Executor/Executrix When you die, your executor administers your estate and follows the directions provided in your will.
626. exempt (from withholding) Free from withholding of federal income tax. A person must meet certain income, tax liability, and dependency criteria.
627. Exemption An exemption is a fixed dollar amount that you can subtract from your adjusted gross income to reduce your taxable income.
628. exemptions Amount that taxpayers can claim for themselves, their spouses, and eligible dependents. There are two types of exemptions-personal and dependency.
629. Exercise When you act on a buying or selling opportunity that you have been granted under the terms of a contract, you are said to exercise a right.
630. Exercise price An option's exercise price, also called the strike price, is the price at which you can buy or sell the stock or other financial product that underlies…
631. Expense ratio A mutual fund company's cost of doing business. It includes the fund's management fee as stated in the Simplified Prospectus.
632. Expiration cycle Equity and index options expire on a predictable four-month schedule, two of which are determined by the expiration cycle to which the underlying…
633. Expiration date The date on which an insurance policy expires.
634. Face value Face value, or par value, is the dollar value of a bond or note, generally $1,000.
635. FACT Act (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) Designed to help consumers check their credit reports for accuracy and detect identity theft early, the FACT Act gives every consumer the right to request…
636. Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act,FACTA) (FACT Act,FACTA) The purpose of this Act is to help consumers protect their credit identities and recover from identity theft.
637. Fair Collection Practices Act A federal law supplemented by Maine law, which gives rules and regulations governing debt collectors. Federal Law: 15 U.S.C.§ 1601 et seq.
638. Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (FCRA) A Federal law, established in 1971 and revised in 1997, that gives consumers the right to see their credit records and correct any mistakes.
639. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) (FDCPA) The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
640. Fair Housing Act The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate, in any phase of selling or renting real estate, against anyone on the basis of race, color…
641. Fair Market Value Fair market value is the price you would have to pay to buy a particular asset or service on the open market.
642. Fallen angel Corporate or municipal bonds that were investment-grade when they were issued but have been downgraded are called fallen angels.
643. Family of funds Many large mutual fund companies offer a variety of stock, bond, and money market funds with different investment strategies and objectives.
644. Fannie Mae Fannie Mae has a dual role in the US mortgage market. Specifically, the corporation buys mortgages that meet its standards from mortgage lenders around…
645. Fast market A fast market is one with heavy trading and rapidly changing prices in some but not necessarily all of the securities listed on an exchange or market.
646. FDM Common abbreviation for Financial Disclosure Management, the online program to electronically file and manage financial disclosure reports.
647. Federal Credit Union A credit union chartered, examined, and supervised by the federal government through NCUA.
648. Federal Credit Union Act Federal law enacted in June 1934 that allowed the organization of federal credit unions and established methods for their chartering, supervision, and…
649. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) (FDIC) A government corporation that insures the deposits of all national and State banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System.
650. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (FEMA) Federal agency responsible for the emergency evaluation and response to all disasters, natural and man-made.
651. Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) (FFIEC) also known as the Council. The Council is a formal interagency body empowered to prescribe uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the federal…
652. Federal funds When banks have more cash than they're required to in their reserve accounts, they can deposit the money in a Federal Reserve bank or lend it to another…
653. Federal Home Loan Bank Act of 1932 This Act established the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (“FHLBank Board”), which charters and supervises Federal Savings and Loans Institutions…
654. Federal Home Loan Bank Board (“FHLBank Board”) A five-member board established in 1932 by the Federal Home Loan Bank Act. The FHLBank Board provided the FHLBanks with the authority to regulate and…
655. Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBanks) (FHLBanks) The Federal Home Loan Banks are 12 regional cooperative banks that U.S. lending institutions use to finance housing and economic development in their…
656. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (Freddie Mac) A federally chartered corporation that purchases residential mortgages, securitizes them, and sells them to investors; this provides lenders with funds…
657. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) (FHA) The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established by the federal government in 1937 to make home ownership possible for more people and to…
658. Federal Housing Administration Mortgage Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgages, which are made by private lenders, resemble conventional mortgages in many ways, but there are some…
659. Federal Housing Authority (FHA) (FHA) Also known as HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development). The Federal Housing Authority is a federal entity that governs the FHA mortgage program…
660. Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 The Act modernized the regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It created the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (“OFHEO”) as…
661. federal income tax The federal government levies a tax on personal income. The federal income tax provides for national programs such as defense, foreign affairs, law…
662. Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) The Federal Insurance Contribution Act (FICA) is the federal law that requires employers to withhold 6.
663. Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) Tax (FICA) Provides benefits for retired workers and their dependents as well as for disabled workers and their dependents. Also known as the Social Security tax.
664. Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) (Fannie Mae) A federally chartered corporation that purchases residential mortgages and converts them into securities for sale to investors; by purchasing mortgages…
665. Federal National Mortgage Association Charter Act of 1954 (Charter Act) The Charter Act transformed Fannie Mae from a government agency into a public-private, mixed ownership corporation.
666. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) The Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve Board meets eight times a year to evaluate the threat of inflation or recession.
667. Federal Reserve Fedwire Fedwire is an electronic transfer system owned and operated by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks that enables participants to move money from an account they…
668. Federal Reserve System The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system.
669. Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) (FSLIC) Created by the National Housing Act of 1934, the FSLIC, which was administered by the FHLBank Board, insured savings and loan deposits until 1989.
670. Federal/State e-file A program sponsored by the IRS in partnership with participating states that allows taxpayers to file federal and state income tax returns electronically…
671. Fee A charge or payment for products and services, a sum paid or charged for a privilege, for example, some financial institutions charge a monthly fee to…
672. Fee Charged for Use of Other ATM The fee that the institution charges its own account holders to use another institution’s ATM.
673. Fee Charged for Use of Your Own ATM The fee that an institution charges its own account holders to use its own ATM.
674. Fee For Service When you're covered by fee-for-service health insurance, you pay your medical bills and file a claim for reimbursement from your insurance company.
675. FHA Approved Lenders Financial institutions that have been approved by FHA for the origination and servicing of FHA-insured mortgages.
676. FICA Federal Insurance Contributions Act (Social Security and/or Medicare).
677. FICO® score Created by the Fair Isaac Corporation, FICO® is the best-known credit scoring system in the US.
678. Fiduciary Undertaking to act as executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, or trustee for a family trust, authorized trust, or testamentary trust, or receiver…
679. file a return To mail or otherwise transmit to an IRS service center the taxpayer's information, in specified format, about income and tax liability.
680. Filing Date This is the date a filer submits a financial disclosure report to the supervisor or senior legal counsel for review, usually the date the filer eSigns the…
681. filing status Determines the rate at which income is taxed. The five filing statuses are: single, married filing a joint return, married filing a separate return, head…
682. Fill or kill (FOK) If an investor places an FOK order, it means the broker must cancel the order if it can't be filled immediately.
683. Finance Charge The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge.
684. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is an independent, self-regulatory board that establishes and interprets generally accepted accounting…
685. Financial future When a futures contract is linked to a financial product, such as a stock index, Treasury notes, or a currency, the contract is described as a financial…
686. Financial institution Any institution that collects money and puts it into assets such as stocks, bonds, bank deposits, or loans is considered a financial institution.
687. Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) (FIRREA) Enacted by Congress in 1989 in response to the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, FIRREA abolished FSLIC, transferred its assets, liabilities, and…
688. Financial instrument A financial instrument is a physical or electronic document that has intrinsic monetary value or transfers value.
689. Financial Models Financial models are computer simulations designed to forecast the financial performance of a company or project or estimate the impact of key parameters…
690. Financial Performance Report (FPR) (FPR) A report providing a financial summary for a credit union, including assets, liabilities & capital, and income & expense.
691. Financial plan A financial plan is a document that describes your current financial status, your financial goals and when you want to achieve them, and strategies to…
692. Financial planner A financial planner evaluates your personal finances and helps you develop a financial plan to meet both your immediate needs and your long-term goals.
693. Financial pyramid Many investors structure their portfolios in the form of a financial pyramid. The base of the pyramid is made up of nonvolatile, liquid assets.
694. financial records Spending and income records and items to keep for tax purposes, including paycheck stubs, statements of interest or dividends earned, and records of…
695. Firm quote A firm quote includes a bid and ask price at which a market maker is willing to trade a specific quantity - 100 shares of stock, for example.
696. First Mortgage A real estate loan which is in a first lien position, taking priority over all other liens.
697. Fixed annuity A fixed annuity is a contract that allows you to accumulate earnings at a fixed rate during a build-up period.
698. Fixed Income A security that pays a specific interest rate.
699. Fixed Rate Loan The interest rate and the payment remain the same over the life of the loan. The consumer makes equal monthly payments of principal and interest until the…
700. Fixed Rate Mortgage A mortgage with payments that remain the same throughout the life of the loan because the interest rate and other terms are fixed and do not change.