A debt swap involving the exchange of a new bond issue for similar outstanding debt or vice versa. Debt for bond swap transactions are usually executed to take advantage of an interest rate change and/or for tax write-off purposes. 



|||When interest rates go up a company may decide that it is to their advantage to issue new bonds at a lower face value in order to retire current debt that carries a higher face value; the company can then take the loss as a tax deduction.