Overview

When the third stage of EMU began on January 1, 1999, bond markets in the euro area were redenominated in euro. Since then, the euro area has become a leading bond market, with total outstanding debt representing nearly half of the total outstanding debt worldwide.

This tutorial focuses on the three largest debt-issuing countries in the euro area, namely France, Germany, and Italy.

Objective

On completion of this tutorial, you will be able to:
- List the types of bonds issued in the major European bond markets
- Describe how the primary market works
- Explain how bonds are traded in the secondary market
- Understand the different market conventions
- Describe how bond transactions are cleared and settled

Content

Topic 1: French Bond Market
Topic 2: German Bond Market
Topic 3: Italian Bond Market