SPECIAL-PURPOSE ENTITY Definition

SPECIAL-PURPOSE ENTITY (SPE) is a financing vehicle that is not a substantive operating entity, usually one created for a single specified purpose. An SPE may be in the form of a corporation, trust, or partnership. Special-purpose entities have been used for several decades for asset securitization, risk sharing, and to take advantage of tax statutes.

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OPENING BALANCE is the balance of an account at the start of an accounting period.

JUNK BOND is a bond with a speculative credit rating of BB or lower. Such bonds offer investors higher yields than bonds of financially sound companies. Two agencies, Standard & Poors and Moodys Investor Services, provide the rating systems for companies credit. See HIGH YIELD JUNK.

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