Financial Glossary
Key terms from the world of bonds and debt securities — explained clearly for investors and beginners.
19 terms
Bond Basics
9 terms
Fundamental concepts for understanding debt securities
Face Value (Nennwert)
Face value is the fixed amount stated on a security. For bonds, it sets the coupon payment size and the repayment amount at maturity. For stocks, it r...
→
Debt Security (Schuldverschreibung)
A debt security is a tradeable financial instrument representing a loan made by an investor to an issuer. The issuer promises to repay the principal p...
→
Yield (Rendite)
Yield is the return an investor earns from a bond, expressed as an annual percentage. Unlike the coupon rate (which is fixed), yield changes based on ...
→
Coupon (Kupon)
A coupon is the periodic interest payment made by a bond issuer to bondholders. It's calculated as a percentage of the face value and paid at regular ...
→
Market Value (Kurswert)
Market value is the current trading price of a security, determined by supply and demand in the market. For bonds, it's quoted as a percentage of face...
→
Duration
Duration measures a bond's price sensitivity to interest rate changes. It tells you approximately how much a bond's price will change when yields move...
→
ISIN (International Securities Identification Number)
An ISIN is a 12-character alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies a specific security worldwide. It starts with a two-letter country code (DE for G...
→
Issuer (Emittent)
An issuer is the entity that creates and sells a security. For bonds, the issuer borrows money from investors and promises to pay interest and repay p...
→
Accrued Interest (Stückzinsen)
Accrued interest is the interest that has accumulated on a bond since the last coupon payment. When you buy a bond between coupon dates, you pay the s...
→
German Securities
5 terms
Specific instruments and institutions in the German bond market
Bund (Bundesanleihe)
A Bund (Bundesanleihe) is a long-term German government bond with maturities of 7, 10, 15, or 30 years. Bunds are the benchmark for Euro-denominated f...
→
Bobl (Bundesobligation)
A Bobl (Bundesobligation) is a medium-term German federal note with a 5-year maturity. Bobls occupy the middle of the German government yield curve, b...
→
Schatz (Bundesschatzanweisung)
A Schatz (Bundesschatzanweisung) is a short-term German federal treasury note with a 2-year maturity. Schatze are the shortest coupon-bearing German g...
→
Bubill (Unverzinsliche Schatzanweisung)
A Bubill (Unverzinsliche Schatzanweisung) is a German government discount paper with maturities of 3 to 12 months. Bubills pay no coupons — instead, t...
→
Pfandbrief (Covered Bond)
A Pfandbrief is a German covered bond backed by a pool of mortgages or public-sector loans that remain on the issuing bank's balance sheet. Invented i...
→
Advanced Concepts
5 terms
Technical metrics and risk measures for experienced investors
Maturity (Laufzeit)
Maturity is the date when a bond's principal (face value) is repaid to the investor and the bond ceases to exist. It's one of the most fundamental cha...
→
Credit Rating (Bonitätsbewertung)
A credit rating is an assessment of a bond issuer's ability and willingness to meet its debt obligations. Ratings are assigned by agencies like S&P, M...
→
Yield Curve (Zinsstrukturkurve)
The yield curve is a graph showing yields of bonds with the same credit quality but different maturities. It typically plots government bond yields fr...
→
Spread (Zinsaufschlag)
A spread is the yield difference between two bonds, typically expressed in basis points (1 bp = 0.01%). Spreads measure relative value and credit risk...
→
Convexity (Konvexität)
Convexity measures the curvature of the price-yield relationship for a bond. It's the second-order correction to duration's linear estimate of price c...
→