Yankee Bond

A bond denominated in U.S. dollars that is publicly issued in the U.S. by foreign banks and corporations. According to the Securities Act of 1933, these bonds must first be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) before they can be sold. Yankee bonds are often issued in tranches and each offering can be as large as $1 billion. 



|||Due to the stringent regulations and standards that must be adhered to, it may take up to 14 weeks (or 3.5 months) for a Yankee bond to be offered to the public. Part of the process involves having debt-rating agencies evaluate the credit worthiness of the Yankee bond's underlying issuer.

Foreign issuers tend to prefer issuing Yankee bonds when U.S. interest rates are low because this means lower interest payments for the foreign issuer.