We examine the term structure of yield spreads between floating-rate and fixed-rate notes of the same credit quality and maturity. Floating–fixed spreads are theoretically characterized in some practical cases and quantified in a simple model in terms of maturity, credit quality, yield volatility, yield-spread volatility, correlation between changes in yield spreads and default-free yields, and other determining variables. We show that if the issuer's default risk is risk-neutrally independent of interest rates, the sign of floating–fixed spreads is determined by the term structure of the risk-free forward rate.