From a bank’s perspective there is little difference between a negotiable certificate of deposit (NCD) and a time deposit. The big difference to the holder of NCDs is that they can be traded in a secondar y market. NCDs are also generally relatively longer term than time deposits but shorter term than bonds. They may be issued in the local currency or a foreign currency, usually the US$. In the latter case proceeds may be used to finance foreign currency assets or swapped back into the local currency.