Fixed Income Flashcards
bond indenture / trust deed
The legal contract between the bond issuer (borrower) and bondholders (lenders)
Negative covenants
restrictions on asset sales (the company can’t sell assets that have been pledged as collateral), negative pledge of collateral (the company can’t claim that the same assets back several debt issues simultaneously), and restrictions on additional borrowings (the company can’t borrow additional money unless certain financial conditions are met).
Negative covenants serve to protect the interests of bondholders and prevent the issuing firm from taking actions that would increase the risk of default. At the same time, the covenants must not be so restrictive that they prevent the firm from taking advantage of opportunities that arise or responding appropriately to changing business circumstances.
Affirmative covenants
do not typically restrict the operating decisions of the issuer. Common affirmative covenants are to make timely interest and principal payments to bondholders, to insure and maintain assets, and to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
Two examples of affirmative covenants are cross-default and pari passu provisions. A cross-default clause states that if the issuer defaults on any other debt obligation, they will also be considered in default on this bond. A pari passu clause states that this bond will have the same priority of claims as the issuer’s other senior debt issues.
foreign bonds
firm trades bonds in another county
Eurobonds/global bonds
bonds traded across the globe in a separate currency
Bearer bond
better for tax than registered bond
Collateral trust bonds
securities held by trustee
Equipment trust certificate
physical assets owned by trust, leased to firm
Secured bonds have seniority over unsecured bonds
Securitised bonds:
- Issued by a SPE/SPV
- Firm sells assets to SPV
- Assets cash flow make payments to bondholders
- Assets separate from firm, safe form firm problems
- Created to reduce borrowing costs
Covered Bonds:
- Primarily issued by financial firms
- Firm must augment assets whenever they are insufficient to support the covered bonds
- Bond holders effectively have resource to firm as well as the segregated financial assets
Credit enhancement (external):
- Bank guarantee
- Surety bond
- Letter of credit
- Cash collateral account
Credit enhancement (internal):
- Overcollateralization – collateral value is greater than amount borrowed
- Excess spread – underlying asset return greater than bond cost
- Tranches – waterfall to insulate risks
Tax considerations:
- Interest typically taxed as ordinary income
- Interest on municipal bonds (U.S.) exempt from taxes
- Some domestic bonds pay interest net of tax
- For bonds sold prior to maturity, may be capital gains or losses if yield has changed
- Long-term capital gains (and capital gains in general) often taxed at a lower rate
Zero coupon bond = weird stuff because no tax flow but still get taxed
balloon payment
final payment includes a lump sum in addition to the final period’s interest
Sinking fund provisions
must retire a certain amount of principal from a set time
Step-up coupon
increases on a schedule + call feature
Credit linked coupon
coupon rate increases if credit rating decreases, decreases if credit rating increases
Payment-in-kind
Issuer may make coupon payments by increasing principal amount
Deferred (split) coupon
Coupon payments do not begin until a period after issuance