A bond listing has a dozen fields, and about four of them decide anything. Here is what each one means and which ones change your decision.
The fields, and how much they matter
| Field | What it tells you | Weight in the decision |
|---|---|---|
| ISIN | The exact security, not just the issuer | Identity. Always check this |
| Issuer name | Whose credit you are taking | Context only |
| Coupon rate | Fixed rupee interest on face value | Low. Not your return |
| Face value | Amount repaid per bond at maturity | Needed to size the trade |
| Coupon frequency | How often interest is paid | Low. Affects cashflow timing |
| Redemption date | When principal is repaid and the bond ends | High. Must match your horizon |
| Last traded price | What it last changed hands at | Medium, if recent |
| Last traded yield (LTY) | Yield implied by that last trade | High, if recent |
| Last trade date / volume | How fresh and how real that price is | High. A liquidity warning |
| Credit rating | Agency opinion on default risk | High. A filter |
| Secured / senior | Where you stand if the issuer fails | High if things go wrong |
The identity fields
ISIN. A twelve-character code (Indian ones start with IN) that identifies one specific security. This is the field that matters for identity. A single company can have dozens of separate bond issues with different coupons, maturities and seniority. The issuer name does not tell you which bond you are looking at. The ISIN does.
Issuer name. The company that borrowed the money and owes you. Useful for knowing whose credit you are taking, but two bonds from the same issuer can be very different instruments.
The fields that describe the contract
Coupon rate. The fixed annual interest as a percentage of face value. Set at issue, never changes. This is not your return, as coupon rate vs yield to maturity explains.
Face value. The amount repaid per bond at maturity. Every rupee figure, coupon, accrued interest, redemption, scales from this. Check it. Older NCDs often use ₹1,000, many newer issues ₹1,00,000 or ₹10,000.
Coupon frequency. How often interest is paid: annual, semi-annual, quarterly, monthly. Affects your cashflow timing and slightly affects yield calculations.
Redemption date. When the face value is repaid and the bond ends. The gap between today and this date is the bond's remaining life, which drives its price sensitivity to rates.
Secured or unsecured, senior or subordinated. Not always shown on a summary listing, but decisive if the issuer fails. Secured and senior means you get paid earlier from more sources. If the listing does not show it, the offer document does.
The fields that tell you what it is worth now
Last traded price (LTP). What the bond last changed hands at, usually quoted per ₹100 of face value or as a percentage of face value. A price above 100 is a premium. Below 100 is a discount.
Last traded yield (LTY). The yield implied by that last trade. More useful than the coupon for judging value, because it reflects the current price. But it is only as fresh as the last trade, and on a thin bond it can be weeks old. Check the trade date alongside it.
Last trade date and volume. How recently and how much the bond traded. A bond that last traded three weeks ago in tiny size has a stale, unreliable price. This is a liquidity warning, and it matters, as the secondary bond market in India explains.
Credit rating. The agency's opinion on default risk, from AAA down. A filter, not a decision. Read it next to the yield: a yield far above other bonds of the same rating means the market disagrees with the agency. Bond credit ratings explained covers what the letters mean.
Reading it in practice
Walk a listing in this order:
- ISIN and issuer. Whose credit, which specific bond.
- Rating. Is this within my risk tolerance at all? If not, stop.
- Redemption date. Does the maturity match when I need the money?
- LTY and last trade date. What does it actually yield today, and is that number fresh?
- Coupon and frequency. How much cash arrives, and when.
- Face value. So I know what quantity and outlay I am dealing with.
- Secured / senior. Where do I stand if this goes wrong.
If the last trade is old, treat the LTY as indicative only and check recent trades in comparable bonds to sanity-check it. Then run the actual price you would pay through the bond yield calculator to get a yield on your terms, and the accrued interest calculator to see what will actually be debited.
Why two bonds from one company yield differently
You will see it constantly. Same issuer, two ISINs, two different yields. The reasons:
- Different maturities. Longer bonds usually yield more.
- Different coupons. Affects the price and the yield calculation.
- Different seniority. Subordinated bonds yield more because holders are paid later.
- Different liquidity. A bond nobody trades may show a stale yield that is simply wrong.
Always compare at the ISIN level. "Company X bonds yield 10%" is not a meaningful statement.
The takeaway
Of everything on a listing, four fields carry the decision. The rating (can I hold this at all), the redemption date (does it fit my horizon), the last traded yield with its date (what does it really pay, and is that current), and seniority (where I stand if it fails). The rest is detail you confirm once those four check out.