The current yield, interest yield, income yield, flat yield, market yield, mark to market yield or running yield is a financial term used in reference to bonds and other fixed-interest securities such as gilts. It is the ratio of the annual interest (coupon) payment and the bond's price:
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A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of bond issued by a government to support public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called coupon payments, and to repay the face value on the maturity date. The ratio of the annual interest payment to the current market price of the bond is called the current yield.
For example, a bondholder invests $20,000, called face value or principal, into a ten-year government bond with a 10% annual coupon; the government would pay the bondholder 10% interest ($2000 in this case) each year and repay the $20,000 original face value at the date of maturity (i.e. after ten years).
The coupon rate (nominal rate, or nominal yield) of a fixed income security is the interest rate that the issuer agrees to pay to the security holder each year, expressed as a percentage of the security's principal amount or par value. The coupon rate is typically stated in the name of the bond, such as "US Treasury Bond 6.25%". Unlike current yield, it does not vary with the market price of the security.
Coupon rates are fixed for the life of the security, except in the case of floating-rate bonds.
