interest rate risk

Interest rate risk

The chance that a security's value will change due to a change in interest rates. For example, a bond's price drops as interest rates rise. For a depository institution, also called funding risk: The risk that spread income will suffer because of a change in interest rates.

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interest rate risk

The risk that interest rates will rise and reduce the market value of an investment. Long-term fixed-income securities, such as bonds and preferred stock, subject their owners to the greatest amount of interest rate risk. Short-term securities, such as Treasury bills, are influenced much less by interest rate movements. Common stock prices are also affected by changes in interest rates, although the linkage is less clear than is the case with debt securities and preferred stock.