DEBT INSTRUMENT

A paper or electronic obligation that enables the issuing party to raise funds by promising to repay a lender in accordance with terms of a contract. Types of debt instruments include notes, bonds, certificates, mortgages, leases or other agreements between a lender and a borrower. Debt instruments are a way for markets and participants to easily transfer the ownership of debt obligations from one party to another. Debt obligation transferability increases liquidity and gives creditors a means of trading debt obligations on the market.