# Exchange-Traded Note (ETN)

*Markets & Instruments — Finicade finance glossary*

An ETN is an unsecured debt obligation of a bank that promises the return of an index, rather than a fund that owns assets. It tracks perfectly by construction, which is its appeal for hard-to-hold exposures like volatility or commodities — and it carries the issuer's credit risk, which is its defining danger. If the bank fails, you're an unsecured creditor regardless of how the index performed; Lehman's ETNs proved the point.

**Also known as:** ETN, exchange traded note

**Related terms:** [ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund)](https://finicade.com/glossary/etf), [Counterparty Risk](https://finicade.com/glossary/counterparty-risk), [Credit Risk](https://finicade.com/glossary/credit-risk), [Structured Product](https://finicade.com/glossary/structured-product), [VIX](https://finicade.com/glossary/vix)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/exchange-traded-note