The degree to which
an agency bond issuer is considered independent from the federal government impacts the level of its default risk.
However, because
the agency bond issuers are guaranteed by the federal government these bonds are generally considered safer than even the safest corporate bonds.
The interest from most but not all agency bond issues is exempt from state and local taxes and it is important for investors to understand the tax consequences of agency bonds; some of the biggest
agency bond issuers such as GSE entities Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are fully taxable for example.
Not exact matches
a government, corporation, municipality, or
agency that has issued a security (e.g., a
bond) in order to raise capital or to repay other debt; the
issuer goes to an underwriter to get their securities sold in the new issue market; for certificates of deposit (CDs), this is the bank that has issued the CD; in the case of fixed income securities, the
issuer of the security is the primary determinant of the security's characteristics (e.g., coupon interest rate, maturity, call features, etc..)
Just as individuals have their own credit report and rating issued by credit bureaus,
bond issuers generally are evaluated by their own set of ratings
agencies to assess their creditworthiness.
Ratings
agencies research the financial health of each
bond issuer (including
issuers of municipal
bonds) and assign ratings to the
bonds being offered.
When we enter «overseas shipholding» into the
issuer name search box, the site returns four specific
bonds complete with
issuer name, CUSIP, coupon rate, maturity date, call date, and
agency ratings:
An AAA rating is the highest possible rating assigned to the
bonds of an
issuer by credit rating
agencies.
An AA + rating is generally one step below the highest rating (AAA) assigned to the
bonds of an
issuer by credit rating
agencies.
Bond ratings, which typically range from AAA / Aaa (highest) to D (lowest), are assigned by credit rating
agencies such as Standard & Poor's, Moody's and / or Fitch, as an indication of an
issuer's creditworthiness.
Indications are that potential Yen
issuers like Ghana should have at least a double B rating by the rating
agencies before they can acquire a Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) guarantee, a pre-requirement for Samurai
bonds.
However, because the ratings
agencies monitor
issuers» ability to repay, investors have plenty of time to sell those
bonds with minor losses.
Additionally, in terms of market structure, some of the
issuers in the offshore market are foreign names and a portion of the offshore RMB
bonds received international
bond - level ratings, whereas the onshore market is dominated by domestic
issuers, and they are rated by local ratings
agencies only.
The «Big Three»
agencies (Standard & Poor's, Fitch, and Moody's) analyze the
bond issuers» financial health and assigns a letter grade.
These are
bonds from
issuers whose risk levels prevent them from qualifying for «investment grade ratings» by the primary
bond credit rating
agencies.
Credit risk is the likelihood that the
bond issuer (corporation, state or local government
agency, etc.) will be able to repay the principal and interest on the
bond in a timely manner.
Below investment grade
issuers, whose credit risks rating
agencies view as a higher concern, and which comprise the S&P U.S. Issued High Yield Corporate
Bond Index, are yielding 4.66 % (YTW).
Just as individuals have their own credit report and rating issued by credit bureaus,
bond issuers generally are evaluated by their own set of ratings
agencies to assess their creditworthiness.
Call risk Some corporate, municipal and
agency bonds have a «call provision» entitling their
issuers to redeem them at a specified price on a date prior to maturity.
Read the prospectus for your fund and it will have the average duration as well as information about the
issuers of the
bonds it does invest in (govt,
agency, mortgage backed, foreign, high quality corporate, etc) and whether there are constraints on the target average maturity.
However, not all kinds of
agency bond issues are considered liquid, including some of which may be structured for a particular
issuer or class of investors and may not be suitable for individual investors.
The interest from most but not all
agency bond issues is exempt from state and local taxes; some of the biggest
issuers such as GSE entities Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are fully taxable.
Investors should take into account that the tax status of various
agency bond issues varies depending on the
agency issuer.
Credit rating
agencies assess the risks of certain
bonds, issuing grades that reflect the
issuer's ability to meet the promised principal and interest payments.
The ratings of
bonds by various rating
agencies can vary based on the reliability of the
issuer and the potential risk that the
issuer could default on the timely payment of interest and principal.
However, a
bond may be reviewed at any time the
agency deems necessary for reasons including: missed or delayed payments to investors, issuance of new
bonds, changes to an
issuer's underlying financial fundamentals, or other broad economic developments.
Most zero - coupon municipal
bonds are rated A or higher by the rating
agencies, but it's still important to check the quality of the
issuer.
To maintain maximum flexibility, the securities in which the Income Fund may invest include corporate debt securities of
issuers in the U.S. and foreign countries, bank debt (including bank loans and participations), government and
agency debt securities of the U.S. and foreign countries, convertible
bonds and other convertible securities and equity securities, including preferred and common stock and interests in REITs.
Some municipal
bonds are insured by outside
agencies, usually a monoline insurer, which promises to pay the interest and principal if the
bond's
issuer defaults.
If a municipal
bond, the
issuer is typically a state, political subdivision,
agency or authority which borrows money through the sale of
bonds or notes.
To assist in the evaluation of an
issuer's creditworthiness, ratings
agencies, such as Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's analyze a
bond issuer's ability to meet its debt obligations, and issue ratings from «Aaa» or «AAA» for the most creditworthy
issuers to «Ca», «C»,»D», «DDD», «DD» or»D» for those in default.
This risk can best be mitigated when you purchase
bonds from high quality
issuers that are rated by third party rating
agencies like Moody's and S & P, and when you diversify your
bond exposure among several
issuers rather than just one.
Bonds and
bond funds will decrease in value as interest rates rise and are subject to credit risk, which refers to the possibility that the debt
issuers may not be able to make principal and interest payments or may have their debt downgraded by ratings
agencies.
A callable municipal, corporate, federal
agency or government security gives the
issuer of the
bond the right to redeem it at predetermined prices at specified times prior to maturity.
The leading rating
agencies assess most
issuers of corporate
bonds as to their ability and willingness to pay interest and repay principal as scheduled.
Mr. Doty continues to serve as consultant to, and municipal
bond expert witness on municipal finance in consultation with, legal counsel to municipal securities
issuers, underwriters, municipal advisors,
bond counsel, trustees, investors and governmental
agencies.
«
Issuers now are underwriting «A» pieces of a security in excess of what is required by the rating
agencies, so the
bonds are less likely to be downgraded,» says Pendergast.