What is a ‘Debt Instrument’?
Debt instrument represents a contract whereby one party lends money to another on pre-determined terms with regards to rate and periodicity of interest, repayment of principal amount by the borrower to the lender.
In Indian securities markets, the term ‘bond’ is used for debt instruments issued by the Central and State governments and public sector organizations and the term ‘debenture’ is used for instruments issued by private corporate sector.
What are the features of debt instruments?
Each debt instrument has three features: Maturity, coupon and principal.
Maturity: Maturity of a bond refers to the date, on which the bond matures, which is the date on which the borrower has agreed to repay the principal. Term-to-Maturity refers to the number of years remaining for the bond to mature. The Term-to-Maturity changes everyday, from date of issue of the bond until its maturity. The term to maturity of a bond can be calculated on any date, as the distance between such a date and the date of maturity. It is also called the term or the tenure of the bond.
Coupon: Coupon refers to the periodic interest payments that are made by the borrower (who is also the issuer of the bond) to the lender (the subscriber of the bond). Coupon rate is the rate at which interest is paid, and is usually represented as a percentage of the par value of a bond.
Principal: Principal is the amount that has been borrowed, and is also called the par value or face value of the bond. The coupon is the product of the principal and the coupon rate.
The name of the bond itself conveys the key features of a bond. For example, a GS CG2008 11.40% bond refers to a Central Government bond maturing in the year 2008 and paying a coupon of 11.40%. Since Central Government bonds have a face value of Rs.100 and normally pay coupon semi-annually, this bond will pay Rs. 5.70 as six-monthly coupon, until maturity.
What is meant by ‘Interest’ payable by a debenture or a bond?
Interest is the amount paid by the borrower (the company) to the lender (the debenture-holder) for borrowing the amount for a specific period of time. The interest may be paid annual, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly and is paid usually on the face value (the value printed on the bond certificate) of the bond.
What are the Segments in the Debt Market in India?
There are three main segments in the debt markets in India, viz.,
(1) Government Securities,
(2) Public Sector Units (PSU) bonds, and
(3) Corporate securities.
The market for Government Securities comprises the Centre, State and State-sponsored securities. In the recent past, local bodies such as municipalities have also begun to tap the debt markets for funds. Some of the PSU bonds are tax free, while most bonds including government securities are not tax-free. Corporate bond markets comprise of commercial paper and bonds. These bonds typically are structured to suit the requirements of investors and the issuing corporate, and include a variety of tailor-made features with respect to interest payments and redemption.
Who are the Participants in the Debt Market?
Given the large size of the trades, Debt market is predominantly a wholesale market, with dominant institutional investor participation. The investors in the debt markets are mainly banks, financial institutions, mutual funds, provident funds, insurance companies and corporates.
Are bonds rated for their credit quality?
Most Bond/Debenture issues are rated by specialised credit rating agencies. Credit rating agencies in India are CRISIL, CARE, ICRA and Fitch. The yield on a bond varies inversely with its credit (safety) rating. The safer the instrument, the lower is the rate of interest offered.
How can one acquire securities in the debt market?
You may subscribe to issues made by the government/corporates in the primary market. Alternatively, you may purchase the same from the secondary market through the stock exchanges.