Definition

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A dividend swap is an over-the-counter financial derivative contract (in particular a form of swap). It consists of a series of payments made between two parties at defined intervals over a fixed term (e.g., annually over 5 years). One party - the holder of the fixed leg - will pay its counterparty a pre-designated fixed payment at each interval. The other party - the holder of the floating leg - will pay its counterparty the total dividends that were paid out by a selected underlying, which can be a single company, a basket of companies, or all the members of an index. The payments are multiplied by a notional number of shares.[1