Coupon date - Financial definition
Concise definition of the term coupon date
The term coupon date refers to the scheduled date on which interest payments, known as coupon payments, are paid to bondholders by the issuer of the bond.
Comprehensive definition of the term coupon date
In the context of fixed-income securities, bonds typically have a set coupon rate, which represents the annual interest payment as a percentage of the bond's face value. These payments are distributed to bondholders at regular intervals. These are often annual or semiannual, but sometimes also quarterly. The dates on which these payments are made are known as coupon dates.
Example and Context
Consider a 10-year bond with a 5% annual coupon rate and semiannual payments. This bond would have coupon dates every six months, with bondholders receiving interest payments equivalent to 2.5% of the face value on each of these dates. If the face value of the bond is $1,000, the bondholder would receive $25 every six months on the scheduled coupon dates until the bond matures.