Course Content
FIXED-INCOME SECURITIES: DEFINING ELEMENTS
This chapter is covered under study session 14, reading 42 of the study materials provided by the Institute. After reading this chapter, a student should be able to: a. describe basic features of a fixed-income security; b. describe the content of a bond indenture; c. compare affirmative and negative covenants and identify examples of each; d. describe how legal, regulatory, and tax considerations affect the issuance and trading of fixed-income securities; e. describe how cash flows of fixed-income securities are structured; f. describe contingency provisions affecting the timing and/or nature of cash flows of fixed-income securities and identify whether such provisions benefit the borrower or the lender.
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FIXED-INCOME MARKETS: ISSUANCE, TRADING, AND FUNDING
This chapter is covered under study session 14, reading 43 of the study material provided by the Institute. After reading this chapter, a student should be able to: describe classifications of global fixed-income markets; b describe the use of interbank offered rates as reference rates in floating-rate debt; c describe mechanisms available for issuing bonds in primary markets; d describe secondary markets for bonds; e describe securities issued by sovereign governments; f describe securities issued by non-sovereign governments, quasi-government entities, and supranational agencies; g describe types of debt issued by corporations; h describe structured financial instruments; i describe short-term funding alternatives available to banks; j describe repurchase agreements (repos) and the risks associated with them.
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INTRODUCTION TO FIXED-INCOME VALUATION
This chapter is covered under study session 14, reading 44 of the study material provided by the Institute. After reading this chapter, a student should be able to: a calculate a bond’s price given a market discount rate; b identify the relationships among a bond’s price, coupon rate, maturity, and market discount rate (yield-to-maturity); c define spot rates and calculate the price of a bond using spot rates; d describe and calculate the flat price, accrued interest, and the full price of a bond; e describe matrix pricing; f calculate annual yield on a bond for varying compounding periods in a year; g calculate and interpret yield measures for fixed-rate bonds and floating-rate notes; h calculate and interpret yield measures for money market instruments; i define and compare the spot curve, yield curve on coupon bonds, par curve, and forward curve; j define forward rates and calculate spot rates from forward rates, forward rates from spot rates, and the price of a bond using forward rates; k compare, calculate, and interpret yield spread measures.
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INTRODUCTION TO ASSET-BACKED SECURITIES
This chapter is covered under study session 14, reading 45 of the study material provided by the Institute. After reading this chapter, a student should be able to: a. explain benefits of securitization for economies and financial markets; b. describe securitization, including the parties involved in the process and the roles they play; c. describe typical structures of securitizations, including credit tranching and time tranching; d. describe types and characteristics of residential mortgage loans that are typically securitized; e. describe types and characteristics of residential mortgage-backed securities, including mortgage pass-through securities and collateralized mortgage obligations, and explain the cash flows and risks for each type; f. define prepayment risk and describe the prepayment risk of mortgage-backed securities; g. describe characteristics and risks of commercial mortgage-backed securities; h. describe types and characteristics of non-mortgage asset-backed securities, including the cash flows and risks of each type; i. describe collateralized debt obligations, including their cash flows and risks.
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UNDERSTANDING FIXED-INCOME RISK AND RETURN
This chapter is covered under study session 15, reading 46 of the study materials provided by the Institute. After reading this chapter, a student should be able to: a. calculate and interpret the sources of return from investing in a fixed-rate bond; b. define, calculate, and interpret Macaulay, modified, and effective durations; c. explain why effective duration is the most appropriate measure of interest rate risk for bonds with embedded options; d. define key rate duration and describe the use of key rate durations in measuring the sensitivity of bonds to changes in the shape of the benchmark yield curve; e. explain how a bond’s maturity, coupon, and yield level affect its interest rate risk; f. calculate the duration of a portfolio and explain the limitations of portfolio duration; g. calculate and interpret the money duration of a bond and price value of a basis point (PVBP); h. calculate and interpret approximate convexity and distinguish between approximate and effective convexity; i. estimate the percentage price change of a bond for a specified change in yield, given the bond’s approximate duration and convexity; j. describe how the term structure of yield volatility affects the interest rate risk of a bond; k. describe the relationships among a bond’s holding period return, its duration, and the investment horizon; l. explain how changes in credit spread and liquidity affect the yield-to-maturity of a bond and how duration and convexity can be used to estimate the price effect of the changes.
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FUNDAMENTALS OF CREDIT ANALYSIS
This chapter is covered under study session 15, reading 47 of the study material provided by the Institute. After reading this chapter, a student should be able to: a. a describe credit risk and credit-related risks affecting corporate bonds; b. describe default probability and loss severity as components of credit risk; c. describe seniority rankings of corporate debt and explain the potential violation of the priority of claims in a bankruptcy proceeding; d. distinguish between corporate issuer credit ratings and issue credit ratings and describe the rating agency practice of “notching”; e. explain risks in relying on ratings from credit rating agencies; f. explain the four Cs (Capacity, Collateral, Covenants, and Character) of traditional credit analysis; g. calculate and interpret financial ratios used in credit analysis; h. evaluate the credit quality of a corporate bond issuer and a bond of that issuer, given key financial ratios of the issuer and the industry; i. describe factors that influence the level and volatility of yield spreads; j. explain special considerations when evaluating the credit of high yield, sovereign, and non-sovereign government debt issuers and issues.
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Fixed Income
About Lesson

a.  The issuers of ALBs are the financial subsidiaries of automobile manufacturers, commercial banks, and other independent finance companies and small financial institutions specializing in auto loans. The financial subsidiaries of the automobile manufacturers often offer loans below the market rates.

b.  The period of loan typically varies from 3 years to 6 years.

c.  The categories of loans vary from the prime to the sub-prime

d.  The prime loan is high-credit quality and secured loans. They begin to repay principal and interest
These loans are generally short-term in nature and are generated by the financial subsidiaries of the automobile manufacturing companies. These loans generally have a probability of losses of less than 3%.

e.  The sub-prime and near-prime loans are the ones having the expected losses of more than 7% and between 3% and 7% respectively. These loans, like home loans, do not have clear underwriting standards.

e.  The cash flow for auto loans includes interest payment, principal repayment payable at regular intervals, and any prepayments.

f.  The prepayments, if any, may be due to:

     i.  Sale and trade-ins

    ii.  Re-acquisition followed by the resale of automobile

   iii.  Loss or destruction of the vehicle

   iv.  An attempt to save interest cost

    v.  Early retirement

   vi.  An attempt to refinance the loan at a lower interest cost

Prepayment due to re-acquisition followed by resale of the automobile depends on the prevailing economic conditions. During the economic recession, prepayment tends to increase. Prepayment due to refinancing is not common in automobile loans. The speed at which the prepayments are made in the ALBs is measured in terms of the Absolute Prepayment Speed (APS).

g.  The structure of auto loan-backed deals can be either of pass-through or pay-through type.

h.  All ALBS have some form of credit enhancement, such as:

     i.  Credit tranching (having senior, mezzanine, and equity/subordinate tranches)

    ii.  Reserve account (such as $ 5 million for a $ 100 million loan)

   iii.  Overcollateralization (such as $ 100 million issues against $ 110 million assets)

   iv.  Excess interest