Finance

Name: Omar Sabry Hassan Ahmed

Group: E

ID: 3388

Course: Managerial Finance

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Commercial papers

What is 'Commercial Paper'

Commercial paper is an unsecured, short-term debt instrument issued by a corporation, typically for the financing of accounts receivable, inventories and meeting short-term liabilities. Maturities on commercial paper rarely range any longer than 270 days. Commercial paper is usually issued at a discount from face value and reflects prevailing market interest rates.

BREAKING DOWN 'Commercial Paper'

Commercial paper is not usually backed by any form of collateral, making it a form of unsecured debt. As a result, only firms with high-quality debt ratings will easily find buyers without having to offer a substantial discount (higher cost) for the debt issue. Because commercial paper is issued by large institutions, the denominations of the commercial paper offerings are substantial, usually $100,000 or more. Other corporations, financial institutions, wealthy individuals and money market funds are usually buyers of commercial paper.

Advantages of 'Commercial Paper'

A major benefit of commercial paper is that it does not need to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as long as it matures before nine months, or 270 days, making it a very cost-effective means of financing. Although maturities can go as long as 270 days before coming under the purview of the SEC, maturities for commercial paper average about 30 days, rarely reaching that threshold. The proceeds from this type of financing can only be used on current assets, or inventories, and are not allowed to be used on fixed assets, such as a new plant, without SEC involvement.

Example of 'Commercial Paper'

An example of commercial paper is when a retail firm is looking for short-term funding to finance some new inventory...