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Rates Derivatives

The largest derivatives market on earth: instruments that transfer interest-rate risk between counterparties.

The shelf — 10 instruments

Swap fixed interest for floating: the workhorse of global finance, and the largest derivatives market there is.

Basis Swap	Floating against floating: the swap that trades the small print between two interest rates everyone assumed were the same.
Bond Future	The exchange-traded proxy for government bonds — and a delivery puzzle that keeps traders honest.
Cap & Floor	A ceiling or floor on floating interest — insurance against rates going where you can't afford them to.
Constant Maturity Swap	Pays a long-term rate every quarter — which sounds simple and is where the convexity adjustment was invented.
Forward Rate Agreement	Lock today the interest rate for a loan that starts in the future — one period, one payment, pure simplicity.
Inflation Swap	Fix the inflation rate itself: one side pays realised CPI, the other a rate agreed today.
Overnight Index Swap	A swap against the overnight rate itself — the cleanest read on where central banks are headed.
STIR Future	Exchange-traded bets on short-term rates — the deepest, fastest market for central-bank expectations.
Swaption	An option to enter a swap — the instrument through which the market prices interest-rate uncertainty itself.

The shape of the curve, not its level — Steepeners and flatteners trade the difference
Central bank guidance — The path matters more than the next decision
Hedging demand — Mortgage and insurance hedging is one-directional and large
Swap spreads — The gap between the swap and the government curve moves on its own
Collateral and margin — A cleared position is a daily cash obligation
Volatility of rates themselves — It prices every option on the curve

Counted from the same table each product page prints. Not a rating and not a ranking: there is deliberately no total.