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The Global Insight

What is the coupon rate times par value?

Author

Robert Miller

Updated on February 20, 2026

The coupon rate is the annual income an investor can expect to receive while holding a particular bond. It is fixed when the bond is issued and is calculated by dividing the sum of the annual coupon payments by the par value. At the time it is purchased, a bond’s yield to maturity and its coupon rate are the same.

What is the difference between coupon rate and yield?

A bond’s coupon rate is the rate of interest it pays annually, while its yield is the rate of return it generates.

Why do par bonds have the same coupon rate?

The bond comes with a coupon rate that is identical to the market interest rate. As the interest rate continually fluctuates, par bonds are uncommon to see. A bond’s coupon rate is the rate of interest paid by the bond issuers on the bond’s face value. To understand why a bond with a coupon rate equal to the market interest rate

Why are bonds priced at a discount to face value?

For the bond above, the coupon rate is below the market interest rate. In such a scenario, a rational investor would only be willing to purchase this bond at a discount to its face value because its coupon return is lower than the current market interest rate. In other words, the bond is generating a return

What happens if you buy a bond with a 10% coupon?

So with a $1,000 bond that has a 10% semi-annual coupon, you would receive $50 (5% *$1,000) twice per year for the next 10 years. Most investors, however, are concerned not with the coupon payment, but with the bond yield, which is a measure of the income generated by a bond, calculated as the interest divided by the price.

How are coupon rates and yields related to each other?

It is thus crucial to understand the difference between a bond’s coupon interest rate and its yield. The yield represents the effective interest rate on the bond, determined by the relationship between the coupon rate and the current price. Coupon rates are fixed, but yields are not.