For a developing economy like India, debt markets are a crucial source of funds. The debt market in India is amongst the largest in Asia. It includes government securities – the largest component – and bonds issued by public sector undertakings, other government bodies, financial institutions, banks and companies. Debt markets are now considered an alternative route to banking channels for finance.
Debt Instruments are obligations of issuer of such instruments as regards certain future cash flows representing Interest & Principal, which the issuer would pay to the legal owner of the Instruments. Generally debt instruments represent agreements to receive certain cash flows as per the terms contained within the agreement. They can also be said to be tradable form of loans.
Debt Instruments are of various types like Bonds, Debentures, Commercial Papers, Certificates of Deposit, Government Securities (G secs) etc. A brief detail about some of these investment options are given below.
Government Securities- G-Secs are issued by the Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India. Normally the dated government securities have a period of 1 year to 30 years. These are sovereign instruments generally bearing a fixed interest rate with interests payable semi-annually and principle as per schedule. For shorter term, RBI issues Treasury Bills which are discounted papers. At present T-Bills are issued for 91 days, 182 days & 364 days. G-Secs provide risk free (credit risk) return to investors.
Corporate Bonds- Corporate Bonds are issued by public sector undertakings and private corporations for a wide range of tenors normally upto 15 years although some corporates have also issued perpetual bonds. Compared to government bonds, corporate bonds generally have a higher risk of default. This risk depends, of course, upon the particular corporation issuing the bond, the current market conditions, the industry in which it is operating and the rating of the company. Corporate bond holders are compensated for this risk by receiving a higher yield than government bonds.
Certificate of Deposit- CDs are negotiable money market instruments issued in demat form or as a Usance Promissory Notes.CDs issued by banks should have a maturity of not less than seven days and not more than one year. Financial Institutions are allowed to issue CDs for a period between 1 year and up to 3 years. CDs normally give a higher return than Bank term deposit. CDs are rated by approved rating agencies(e.g. CARE, ICRA, CRISIL, FITCH) which considerably enhances their tradability in secondary market. CDs are issued in denominations of Rs. 1 Lac and in the multiples of Rs. 1 Lac thereafter.
Commercial Papers- A CP is a short term security (7 days to 365 days) issued by a corporate entity (other than a bank), at a discount to the face value. One can invest in CPs starting from a minimum of 5 lacs (face value) and multiples thereof. CPs are rated by approved rating agencies (e.g. CARE, ICRA, CRISIL, FITCH). CPs normally give a higher return than fixed deposits & CDs. We deal in investment grade CPs only. CPs can be traded in the secondary market, depending upon demand. An element of credit risk is attached to CPs.
SBI DFHI deals in all these instruments and can help you invest in them. Please see our homepage.