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# Applying Present Discounted Value to a Bond

## Applying Present Discounted Value to a Bond

A similar calculation works in the case of bonds. The lessons in this tutorial explain that if the interest rate falls after a bond is issued, so that the investor has locked in a higher rate, then that bond will sell for more than its face value. Conversely, if the interest rate rises after a bond is issued, then the investor is locked into a lower rate, and the bond will sell for less than its face value. The present value calculation sharpens this intuition.

Think about a simple two-year bond. It was issued for $3,000 at an interest rate of 8%. Thus, after the first year, the bond pays interest of 240 (which is 3,000 × 8%). At the end of the second year, the bond pays$240 in interest, plus the $3,000 in principle. Calculate how much this bond is worth in the present if the discount rate is 8%. Then, recalculate if interest rates rise and the applicable discount rate is 11%. To carry out these calculations, look at the stream of payments being received from the bond in the future and figure out what they are worth in present discounted value terms. The calculations applying the present value formula are shown in this table. Computing the Present Discounted Value of a Bond Stream of Payments (for the 8% interest rate)Present Value (for the 8% interest rate)Stream of Payments (for the 11% interest rate)Present Value (for the 11% interest rate)$240 payment after one year$240/(1 + 0.08)1 =$222.20$240 payment after one year$240/(1 + 0.11)1 = $216.20$3,240 payment after second year$3,240/(1 + 0.08)2 =$2,777.80$3,240 payment after second year$3,240/(1 + 0.11)2 = $2,629.60 Total$3,000Total$2,845.80 The first calculation shows that the present value of a$3,000 bond, issued at 8%, is just \$3,000. After all, that is how much money the borrower is receiving. The calculation confirms that the present value is the same for the lender. The bond is moving money around in time, from those willing to save in the present to those who want to borrow in the present, but the present value of what is received by the borrower is identical to the present value of what will be repaid to the lender.

The second calculation shows what happens if the interest rate rises from 8% to 11%. The actual dollar payments in the first column, as determined by the 8% interest rate, do not change. However, the present value of those payments, now discounted at a higher interest rate, is lower. Even though the future dollar payments that the bond is receiving have not changed, a person who tries to sell the bond will find that the investment’s value has fallen.

Again, real-world calculations are often more complex, in part because, not only the interest rate prevailing in the market, but also the riskiness of whether the borrower will repay the loan, will change. In any case, the price of a bond is always the present value of a stream of future expected payments.