-------------------------------------------------
1.0 INTRODUCTORY PART 1.1 Introduction:
Every Financial Institute irrespective of its size is generally exposed to market liquidity and interest rate risks in connection with the process of Asset Liability Management. Failure to identify the risks associated with business and failure to take timely measures in giving a sense of direction threatens the very existence of the institution. It is, therefore, important that the strategic decision makers of an organization assume special care with regard to the Balance Sheet Risk management and should ensure that the structure of the institute’s business and the level of Balance Sheet risk it assumes are effectively managed, appropriate policies and procedures are established to control the direction of the organization. The whole exercise is with the objective of limiting these risks against the resources that are available for evaluating and controlling liquidity and interest rate risk.
Asset Liability Management (ALM) can be defined as a mechanism to address the risk faced by a bank due to a mismatch between assets and liabilities either due to liquidity or changes in interest rates. Liquidity is an institution’s ability to meet its liabilities either by borrowing or converting assets. Apart from liquidity, a bank may also have a mismatch due to changes in interest rates as banks typically tend to borrow short term (fixed or floating) and lend long term (fixed or floating). A comprehensive ALM policy framework focuses on bank profitability and long-term viability by targeting the net interest margin (NIM) ratio and Net Economic Value (NEV), subject to balance sheet constraints. Significant among these constraints are maintaining credit quality, meeting liquidity needs and obtaining sufficient capital.
An insightful view of ALM is that it simply combines portfolio