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BANKERS TUTORIAL · CAIIB · ORIGINAL PRACTICE & ANALYSIS

Practice & review: Reading foreign-exchange quotations from the correct viewpoint

A two-way foreign-exchange quote gives the dealer's buying and selling prices for the base currency. Learn to identify currency units, customer direction and quotation viewpoint before multiplying, dividing or comparing a spread.

01 / 03Learn with a clear direction

2 min read Original learning material · Prepared 14 Oct 2026

The worked question on this page is original educational practice. It is not represented as a question from an official previous-year examination paper.

01 / UNDERSTANDING

Review the question

Use an original two-way-quote problem that changes only whether the customer receives or pays the base currency. Ask for the appropriate side and a reason. In genuine-paper review, underline the dealer viewpoint, quote units and requested output currency before calculating; record viewpoint errors separately from multiplication or division errors.

02 / UNDERSTANDING

The concept in context

Arithmetic follows the units and transaction direction. A customer selling foreign currency and a customer buying it need different sides of the same two-way quote. Inverting a quote also reverses the bid and offer through reciprocal relationships. These are quotation mechanics; actual customer charges and contractual conditions require their own supplied information.

03 / UNDERSTANDING

A worked learning case

In a fictional teaching quote, a dealer shows 80.00/80.20 local-currency units per foreign-currency unit. An exporter sells foreign-currency receipts, so the dealer buys that currency at 80.00. An importer buying the same foreign currency uses 80.20. The class labels units and viewpoint before calculating either local-currency amount.

ORIGINAL EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

Try it before you check.

Which side of a dealer's quote applies when a customer sells the base currency to that dealer?

Show the answer and reasoning

The dealer's bid for the base currency.

The bid describes the dealer's buying price, not the customer's buying price. Selling the base currency as a customer means the dealer receives and buys it. Labelling the currencies and writing the transaction direction before calculating prevents the common mistake of selecting a side merely because the customer is called a buyer or seller generally.

Two traps to watch for.

  • Calling the dealer's bid the customer's buying price.
  • Inverting both numbers without reversing their order.

YOUR TOPIC-SPECIFIC LEARNING MAP

Learn from the attempt

  1. Label numerator and denominator currencies explicitly.

  2. Translate the customer's action into the dealer's action.

  3. Check the units of the calculated settlement amount.

Explain the idea, apply it to a new situation, then check what changed in your reasoning.

BANKERS TUTORIAL · SOURCE NOTES

Keep the source alongside your notes.

Official links provide subject context and authoritative reference material. This guide’s explanation, scenario and question are original Bankers Tutorial learning content.

  1. iibf.org.in https://iibf.org.in/caiib-certified-associate-IIBF
  2. iibf.org.in https://iibf.org.in/documents/RulesSyllabus/2026/FlagshipCourses/60%20-%20CAIIB_24.07.25_Change_Final%20Website_23.02.2026.PDF
  3. www.rbi.org.in https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewMasDirections.aspx?id=10485

For CAIIB preparation, check the current official notice before relying on changing dates, rules or examination requirements.

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