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BANKERS TUTORIAL · RBI · EXAM-PLANNING GUIDE

Study plan: Bond prices and yields: the inverse relationship

For a bond with fixed promised cash flows, the price and required yield move in opposite directions, other things equal. Discounting explains the relationship without implying that every security has identical risk or price sensitivity.

01 / 03Learn with a clear direction

2 min read Original learning material · Prepared 14 Oct 2026

This is an original preparation plan, not a new examination announcement. Check dates, stages, eligibility and application instructions in the issuing authority’s current notice.

01 / UNDERSTANDING

Plan your preparation

Practise one-payment calculations first, then add coupons only after the discounting logic is secure. Explain the direction verbally before doing any present-value division. For a later review, explain the direction before calculating price. Keep a specific error note about assuming a higher required yield raises a fixed-cash-flow bond price. Use a changed example after a short gap so that remembering one answer does not disguise a remaining misunderstanding.

02 / UNDERSTANDING

The concept in context

For a bond with fixed promised cash flows, the price and required yield move in opposite directions, other things equal. Discounting explains the relationship without implying that every security has identical risk or price sensitivity. Value a future payment by dividing it by the relevant gross discount factor for its remaining period.

03 / UNDERSTANDING

A worked learning case

A fictional bond promises one payment of 110 in one year. At a required yield of 10%, its simplified price is 110 divided by 1.10, or 100. If the required yield becomes 20%, the same payment is worth about 91.67 today. The promised cash flow is unchanged, but its discounted present value falls.

ORIGINAL EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

Try it before you check.

At a 10% one-period required yield, what is the price of the promised 110 payment?

Show the answer and reasoning

100 units.

The present value is 110 divided by 1.10, equal to 100. A buyer paying 100 and receiving 110 earns the stated 10% one-period return if the promised payment occurs. Raising the discount rate lowers the present value of the same cash flow, which establishes the inverse price-yield relationship in this simplified case.

Two traps to watch for.

  • Assuming a higher required yield raises a fixed-cash-flow bond price.
  • Treating promised payments as a guarantee against market-price changes.

YOUR TOPIC-SPECIFIC LEARNING MAP

Build your next study session

  1. List the fixed future cash flows.

  2. Discount with a matching-period yield.

  3. Explain the direction before calculating price.

Explain the idea, apply it to a new situation, then check what changed in your reasoning.

BANKERS TUTORIAL · SOURCE NOTES

Keep the source alongside your notes.

Official links provide subject context and authoritative reference material. This guide’s explanation, scenario and question are original Bankers Tutorial learning content.

  1. m.rbi.org.in https://m.rbi.org.in/commonman/english/scripts/FAQs.aspx?Id=711

For RBI preparation, check the current official notice before relying on changing dates, rules or examination requirements.

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