10.5 Activating Currencies and Loading Exchange Rates

Rate Management under “Common Object Maintenance” handles all currency definitions for OFSAA applications. Currencies are conveniently referred to by code and written description. A comprehensive list of ISO-defined currencies is included, and you can define and add your own. Upon installation, one currency is active and ready for processing: the one identified by your organization as the functional currency. You can activate other currencies and define and activate newly-created currencies when needed. In addition, you can designate key currencies to be used for reporting. These alone will be available for cross-currency consolidation.

The Common Object Maintenance> Rate Management > Currencies screen enables you to select currencies for reporting and for establishing interest rates and exchange rates. It allows you to activate relevant currencies and classify them as:

• Functional Currency
• Reporting Currencies
• Other Active Currencies

Before defining the classifications, let's begin by discussing two types of currencies: ISO-defined and user-defined.

Currency Definitions and Classifications

OFSAA Rate Management provides a list of ISO-defined currencies for you to activate as needed. (The functional currency is activated upon installation). You can also define and add your own. Any currency except the functional currency can be deactivated or deleted.

Currencies are displayed in alphabetical order by currency code.

Functional Currency

At the time of installation, Rate Management requires the installer to designate a functional, or primary currency for the organization (stored in the FSI_DB_INFO table). A German multinational bank would therefore designate the Euro as its functional currency. Only one functional currency is allowed per organization, and once assigned it cannot be changed. The functional currency is both an active and a reporting currency.

Reporting Currencies

A reporting currency is an active currency that balances in other currencies is consolidated, to facilitate reporting. Balances in reporting currencies are, in turn, consolidated to the functional currency. For example, an American multinational bank might consolidate its holdings in Asian currencies to the Japanese Yen and its balances in European currencies to the Euro. Then it would consolidate the sums to the U.S. dollar.

Other Active Currencies

An active currency is any currency the organization works with. When OFSAA is installed only the functional currency is active and available for processing. If your institution has holdings in more than one currency then you need to activate those currencies. A Mexican bank doing business in the United States and Canada, for instance, would activate the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar.

For more information on loading exchange rate data using the staging area and the related data loader utility, see Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Data Model Utilities User Guide, Stage History Rates Loader module.

For more information on loading exchange rate data using the Currency Rates user interface, see Currency Rates.