Corporate bond

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Securities

Securities
Bond
Commercial paper
Hybrid security
Stock
Warrant

Markets
Bond market
Stock market
Stock exchange

Stocks
Share
Stock
Warrant

Bonds by coupon
Fixed rate bond
Floating rate note
Zero coupon bond
Inflation-indexed bond

Bonds by collateral
Asset-backed security
Collateralized debt obligation
Collateralized mortgage obligation
Credit linked note
Mortgage-backed security
Unsecured bond

Bonds by issuer
Corporate bond
Government bond
Municipal bond
Sovereign bond


A Corporate bond is a bond issued by a corporation, as the name suggests. The term is usually applied to longer term debt instruments, generally with a maturity date falling at least 12 months after their issue date (the term "commercial paper" being sometimes used for instruments with a shorter maturity).

Sometimes, the term "corporate bonds" is used to include all bonds except those issued by governments in their own currencies, although, strictly speaking, it only applies to those issued by corporations (those which are subsumed by neither category include the bonds of local authorities and supranational organizations).

Corporate bonds are often listed on major exchanges (such bonds being described as "listed" bonds) and ECNs like MarketAxess, and the coupon (i.e. interest payment) is usually taxable. However, despite being listed on exchanges, the vast majority of trading volume in corporate bonds in most developed markets takes place in decentralized, dealer-based, over-the-counter markets.

Compared to government bonds, they generally have a higher risk of default (although this risk depends, of course, upon the particular corporations and governments being compared).

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