Bearer bond

A bearer bond or bearer note is a bond or debt security issued by a government or a business entity such as a corporation. As a bearer instrument, it differs from the more common types of investment securities in that it is unregistered—no records are kept of the owner, or the transactions involving ownership. Whoever physically holds the paper on which the bond is issued—the "bearer"—‌is the presumptive owner of the instrument. This is useful for investors who wish to remain anonymous.

Recovery of the value of a bearer bond in the event of its loss, theft, or destruction is usually impossible. Some relief is possible in the case of United States public debt.^[1] Furthermore, while all bond types state maturity dates and interest rates, bearer bond coupons for interest payments are physically attached to the security and must be submitted to an authorized agent in order to receive payment.^[2]

Issuance of new bearer bonds has been effectively outlawed in the United States since the 1980s due to their use in illegal activities, but bearer bonds issued before this date can be redeemed if the issuer still exists.

Bearer bonds have been traced back as far as 1648, but there was a spike in popularity in the United States for these bonds during the Civil War, as government resources were strained and limited.^[3] Following the success and ease of transferring funds in the United States, Europe and South America also started issuing this type of bond.^[4]

The main appeal of bearer bonds is anonymity, which led them to become the financial instrument of choice for unlawful activity including money laundering, tax evasion and drug trafficking. In response, new issuances of bearer bonds have been severely curtailed in the United States since 1982.^[5]

All bearer bonds issued by the US Treasury had matured as of May 2016, with approximately $87 million yet to be redeemed as of March 2020.^[6]

En Estados Unidos, la Ley de Equidad Tributaria y Responsabilidad Fiscal de 1982 restringió sustancialmente la emisión de deuda al portador: también prohibió cualquier deducción fiscal de los intereses pagados sobre dichos bonos emitidos después de 1982 por el emisor en el caso de bonos corporativos y eliminó la exención fiscal de los intereses pagados en el caso de bonos municipales, mientras que los bonos registrados conservaron el tratamiento de exención fiscal. ^{[ 7 ]}

La Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos, en el caso South Carolina v. Baker (1988), examinó la impugnación de este tratamiento fiscal por parte del estado estadounidense de Carolina del Sur , ratificando la ley y poniendo fin a la emisión de prácticamente todos los bonos municipales al portador de los Estados Unidos.

• Certificado de acciones

• Contenido multimedia relacionado con los bonos al portador en Wikimedia Commons.