Also known as a balloon payment. A single repayment of principal of a bond or loan on its maturity date (rather than gradually repaying the loan in installments over a period of time, as in an amortizing loan).

In transactions where the borrower must make a bullet repayment, the requirement is set forth in the loan agreement or indenture governing the underlying debt. In some cases where bullet repayments are required, the bullet repayment is the only required principal repayment during the life of the loan; in others the debt is also subject to amortization. In the latter case, the outstanding principal amount of the debt reduces over time as amortization payments are made in accordance with an agreed payment schedule. However, a loan amortization schedule often leaves an outstanding principal balance at maturity that is significantly larger than the amount of any of the periodic amortization payments.

Bullet repayments are common in term loans held by institutional investors, together with minimal amortization over the life of the loan, because institutional investors, unlike commercial banks, typically want their loans to remain outstanding for the full contractual term of the debt.