It stands for medium term note; a corporate fixed-income security that is offered intermittently or continuously by an agent of the issuing company. Notwithstanding the name (medium-term), these debt securities are generally issued in a wide range of maturities (9-12 months, more than one year to 18 months, more than 18 months to two years, and so on, up to 30 years).

The purpose of medium-term notes (MTNs) was to bridge the funding gap between commercial paper and long-term bonds. It is for this reason that they are called “mid-term”. MTNs differ from bonds in that they are assigned to investors when they are initially sold (on a best-effort basis) by investment banks or brokers/ dealers acting as agents. Also, MTNs are typically sold in relatively small proportions on a continuous or intermittent basis while bonds are usually sold in large, discrete issues.