Maturity

The date on which the principal on the loan is repaid.

Author: David Bickerton
David Bickerton
David Bickerton
Asset Management | Financial Analysis

Previously a Portfolio Manager for MDH Investment Management, David has been with the firm for nearly a decade, serving as President since 2015. He has extensive experience in wealth management, investments and portfolio management.

David holds a BS from Miami University in Finance.

Reviewed By: Austin Anderson
Austin Anderson
Austin Anderson
Consulting | Data Analysis

Austin has been working with Ernst & Young for over four years, starting as a senior consultant before being promoted to a manager. At EY, he focuses on strategy, process and operations improvement, and business transformation consulting services focused on health provider, payer, and public health organizations. Austin specializes in the health industry but supports clients across multiple industries.

Austin has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration in Strategy, Management and Organization, both from the University of Michigan.

Last Updated:December 14, 2023

What Is Maturity?

A transaction's or financial instrument's maturity is the point at which it must be renewed, or it will no longer be valid. 

Examples of transactions include deposits, spot foreign exchange trades, forward trades, interest rate and commodity swaps, options, loans, and fixed-income assets like bonds. 

It is most commonly used in relation to bonds, even though it may be used for deposits, money, interest rate and commodities swaps, options, loans, and other activities.

If a borrower renews the loan, defaults pays more in interest, or pays off the whole amount of debt ahead of schedule, the completion date for loans and other debt will vary.

If a bond is not paid for at the time of completion, the issuer may default on the obligation, which might harm the issuer's credit rating and limit its capacity to issue bonds in the future.

The term "maturity date" describes the date on which an investor must get their principal back from a fixed-income instrument and can also be known as the expiration date. The term also refers to the deadline for making a full payment on an installment loan.

Bonds are divided into three primary groups based on their renewal dates: short-term (1-3 years), medium-term (10+ years), and long-term (normally 30-year Treasury bonds).

Regular interest payments to investors stop after the loan arrangement matures since it is no longer in effect.

Key Takeaways

  • The agreed-upon date at which the investment terminates is known as its maturity. At this point, a loan or bond may be repaid, a commodity or cash payment made, or some other payment or settlement term may be carried out. 
  • If a borrower renews the loan, defaults, pays more in interest, or pays off the whole amount of debt ahead of schedule, the renewal date for loans and other debt may vary many times throughout the course of the loan.
  • If a bond is not paid for at the renewal date, the issuer may default on the obligation, which might harm the issuer's credit rating and limit its capacity to issue bonds in the future.

Understanding Maturity

Principal and interest must be repaid in full on the completion date for some financial instruments, such as loans and deposits. 

Some financial instruments, sometimes referred to as "perpetual stocks," have no set expiration date and continue eternally (until the borrower and the lenders eventually agree upon repayment). 

Some securities offer a range of potential completion dates, and these stocks may often be repaid whenever the borrower chooses within that range.

Bonds with multiple classes and staggered redemption dates that were all issued simultaneously are said to have serial maturity.

The term is occasionally used in the financial press as a colloquial phrase for security itself. The market today's higher yields on ten-year maturities translate to falling bond prices and a rising redemption yield on such bonds.

Maturity of a Deposit

In finance, money stored in a bank is referred to as a deposit. A deposit is a transaction in which money is delivered to another party to be kept safe. 

Its completion value is the amount owed due to be paid to the financial obligation holder by maturity. The phrase often refers to a loan's or a bond's outstanding principal sum. The renewal value of a security is equal to its par value.

The day the investor receives their money back from a deposit is known as the expiration date. Sometimes interest is paid regularly during the course of the deposit or upon the date of completion. 

Most euro deposits are overnight interbank deposits, and maturities longer than 12 months are uncommon.

Now let's examine these possibilities that are accessible for term deposits that have matured:

Put The Money In A Holding Account Until You Decide What To Do

After the date has matured, you are permitted to keep the money for a little while. But if you do nothing, the institution could convert the entire sum into a fresh deposit for the same time period. When a new term deposit (TD) is opened, interest is paid at the existing rate.

The present rate might not be competitive, even though this can be an excellent strategy to increase your funds.

Take A Portion Of The Money Out, Then Invest The Remainder

A portion of the total term deposit amount may be withdrawn for personal use or placed in another investment. The remaining cash is reinvested in a new TD for the duration of your choice.

Renew The Deposit

You have two options: renew the deposit with the present bank or search for a different one that could provide more appealing rates. 

The interest rate generally rises as time lengthens; however, this may not always be the case. Before renewing the deposit, it is good to take the time to do some research to ensure you are getting the best deal.

Make A Full Withdrawal

Another choice is to take the full sum out and invest it elsewhere. Alternatively, you might take the cash out and start a high-yield savings account.

Top-up And Renew The Deposit

If you have extra money, you can also decide to increase your initial commitment when you renew the deposit. You can end up making more interest as a result of this.

Now you might ask: Can I take my money out of a term deposit before it matures? The answer is: no.

You cannot remove funds from a TD account before the date has matured. By doing this, you can avoid being tempted to spend the money elsewhere.

Early withdrawal is challenging, but it is not impossible. Frequently, you'll have to inform the institution and cover the prepayment fees. 

The interest is also recalculated, and occasionally you can be required to pay back part of the interest that has already been accumulated on the deposit.

Due to its set-and-forget nature, term deposits are simple to forget to monitor. Thinking forward about what you want to accomplish with your funds might be aided by being ready for the date of completion.

Maturity of Bonds

Providing a business, government agency, or other institution with a loan that can be used for several things, including the construction of roads, the purchase of real estate, the improvement of educational facilities, the conduct of research, the opening of new factories, and the acquisition of cutting-edge technology. 

Bonds function quite similarly to mortgages on homes. Borrowers include the company or government body that issues the bond. Lenders are the individuals who purchase the bonds. 

Investors purchase bonds to obtain interest payments on their investments. A legal contract requiring repayment of the loan and interest at a defined rate and schedule is signed by the company or government body that provides the bond.

At the bond's expiration date, the issuer promises to pay back the amount borrowed initially. The main amount of a bond, commonly referred to as the "par value," is due in full on this day. When a bond is issued, its date is typically determined.

Bonds are frequently categorized as short, medium, or long-term. Bonds with maturities ranging from one to three years are typically referred to as short-term bonds. 

Long-term bonds have maturities longer than ten years, whereas medium or intermediate-term bonds often have durations between four and ten years. 

No matter how long a bond lasts, the borrower satisfies its debt commitment when it reaches its expiration date, and the lender gets the last interest payment and the principal amount lent.

Despite expectations, not all bonds mature. Common callable bonds enable the issuer to retire a bond before the date of completion. The prospectus and the indenture, two papers that describe the terms and circumstances of a bond, both contain information on call provisions.

Although it is not officially necessary, many businesses provide all call provision terms on the customer's confirmation statement.

Maturity of Derivatives

A "derivative" is a form of a financial contract whose value is determined by an underlying asset, group of assets, or benchmark. An agreement between parties who can trade over-the-counter (OTC) or on an exchange is referred to as a derivative.

These contracts may be used to trade a wide variety of assets, but they come with their own risks. Prices for derivatives are dependent on modifications to the underlying asset. These financial instruments are widely used to access particular markets and can be swapped to lower risk. 

With derivatives, risk can be accepted to earn a similar payoff or reduced. Through derivatives, the risk-averse may transfer risk to the risk-takers. 

A derivative instrument's renewal date, or the day it is due for payment or settlement, is also known as a termination date. This is the day on which liabilities cease to exist and the last payment is made. 

An instrument's life, or the transaction's duration, essentially runs from the effective date to the termination date. 

For instance, a swap's renewal date is the point at which interest rate obligations cease to accrue, and the swap ceases to be in force. The day that an option expires and loses value is known as its expiry date.

When referring to mortgages, a maturity date is the day on which the whole principal balance of a mortgage loan is due.

Fundamentally, a cash flow event, such as a cash movement or a cash conversion, should be associated with a derivative completion date. Ultimately, corporations hedge for stakeholder requirements and safeguard USD cash flow.

Investors should try to time the derivative's expiration date with significant cash inflows or outflows, such as a receivable, that is due in 90 days. Even while not all cash flow events can be predicted precisely, key cash flow dates can and should be.

By reducing unnecessary expenses and time-consuming hedges, hedging to cash conversion dates allows them to do so at a lower cost. This strategy confirms that hedged transactions are exposures in both accounting and the economy.

Why would one hedge out a single month 18 times for an intercompany loan with an 18-month due date? 

With the exception of keeping you occupied, this results in 18 distinct cash settlements, increased transaction expenses, and no practical advantage. Professional hedgers predict when they anticipate the cash inflow or outflow to happen and hedge to those anticipated dates.

Why is the Maturity date important to investors?

Bond and preferred stock maturities are quite significant. In addition to letting investors know when their money will be returned, they are essential for calculating the security's fair market value.

This is because calculating the present value of that potential return on the principal is frequently a step in the calculations used to evaluate these assets. The security value tends to decrease the longer the investor has waited for the return of his cash.

Even though a bond will pay a specific amount when it matures, this does not always indicate that the amount represents the bond's current value. Investors can frequently buy bonds for more or less than their face value.

The fact that a maturity date does not ensure that the investor will receive his money back on that day is even more crucial. Except for Treasury bonds, there is always a risk that the issuer will go out of business for all bonds and preferred stocks. 

In other words, investors must confirm that any investment vehicle with a termination date fits their investment schedule. 

If an investor is looking for long-term gain, a short-term investment is generally not the best choice as it often yields a lower return.

In contrast, it is a bad idea to put money into an investment with a long date of completion if there is a risk you may require the principal before that time since there can be fees associated with early withdrawal.

Researched and authored by Dua Bakhsh | LinkedIn

Reviewed and edited by Divya Ananth | LinkedIn

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