Treasury Bill

Definitions #

A short-term government debt security issued at a discount and redeemed at face value at maturity, typically with a tenor up to one year.

Technical A zero-coupon money-market instrument issued by a sovereign treasury, sold below par and paying the face amount at maturity, used for short-term liquidity management.

Example The Ministry of Finance auctioned €5 billion of 3-month treasury bills to meet short-term cash requirements.

Etymology #

From treasury (government finance office) + bill (a short-term note or obligation), dating back to early government debt instruments.

Collocations #

T-bill auction 财政部定期拍卖短期国库券的流程
discount rate 国库券的折现率（按面值折价发行）
risk-free rate 国库券利率被作为无风险利率的基准

Real Business Examples #

In its weekly auction, the U.S. Treasury sold $40 billion of 91-day treasury bills at a high rate of 4.2%.
The pension fund shifted a portion of cash into 6-month T-bills to preserve capital while awaiting equity opportunities.

Register & Variants #

Register: formal
BrE/AmE: 美式常用 T-bill，英式亦同，全球通用

Synonyms & Antonyms #

Synonyms: T-Bill, T-Bills
Antonyms: Treasury bond (long-term)

Common Errors #

把 T-bill 与 T-note 或 T-bond 混用 T-bill 期限 <1年，T-note 2-10年，T-bond >10年，期限不同
以为 T-bill 支付利息 T-bill 不发息，以折价发行、到期面值赎回，差额即收益

Confusable Terms #

Treasury Note vs Treasury Bill: T-note 期限 2-10 年，付息；T-bill 期限 ≤1 年，不付息

Frequently Asked Questions

T-bill 是无风险资产吗?

通常认为是，因其以国家信用背书且期限短；实际仍有通胀风险和极小的违约风险

个人投资者如何购买 T-bill?

可通过财政部直接拍卖（如美国 TreasuryDirect）或二级市场经纪商购买

Published: 2026-09-23 Category: Treasury