gold exchange standard
A variant form of the gold standard under which a country pegged the value of its currency to the value of the currency of a ‘major’ country, e.g. sterling or dollars, which was itself on a gold standard. The international monetary regime in force between 1958 and 1970 is frequently described as a gold exchange standard system because of the wide use of the dollar, itself pegged to gold, as a reserve currency and as an accepted medium of exchange internationally.
gold standard
A monetary system in which currencies are defined in terms of a given weight of gold.
government securities
Securities issued by the U.S. Treasury or federal agencies.
graduated payment
Repayment terms calling for gradual increases in the payments on a closed-end obligation. A graduated payment loan usually involves negative amortization.
grandfathered activities
Nonbank activities, some of which would normally not be permissible for bank holding companies and foreign banks in the United States, but which were acquired or engaged in before a particular date. Such activities may be continued under the ‘grandfather’ clauses of the Bank Holding Company and International Banking Acts.
gross domestic product – GDP
The total value of a nation’s output, income, or expenditure produced within a nation’s physical borders.
gross national product – GNP
A country’s total output of goods and services from all forms of economic activity measured at market prices for a calendar year.