Consider a Dutch investor with 1000 euros to place in a bank deposit in either the Netherlands or Great Britain. The (one-year) interest rate on bank deposit is 2% in Britain and 4.04% in the Netherlands. The (one year) forward euro-pound exchange rate is 1.575 euros per pound and the spot rate is 1.5 euros per pound. Answer the following questions, using the exact equations for UIP and CIP as necessary.
a. What is the euro-dominated return on Dutch deposits for this investor?
€1000 * 1.0404 = €1040.40
b. what is the (riskless) euro-dominated return on British deposits for this investor using forward cover?
€1000 * 1/1.5 * 2% =£ 680 = 680 * 1.575 = €1071.00
c. Is there an arbitrage opportunity here? Explain why or why not. Is this an equilibrium in the forward exchange rate market?
d. If the spot rate is 1.5 euros per pound, and interest rate are as stated previously, what is the equilibrium forward rate, according to CIP?
e. Suppose the forward rate takes the value given by your answer to (d). Calculate the forward premium on the British pound for the Dutch investor (where exchange rates are in euros per pound). Is it positive or negative? why do investors require this premium/discount in equilibrium?