A savings bond is a
government bond
A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of Bond (finance), bond issued by a government to support government spending, public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called Coupon (finance), coupon payments' ...
designed to provide funds for the issuer while also providing a relatively safe investment for the purchaser to save money, typically a
retail investor
There are two basic financial market participant distinctions, investors versus speculators and institutional versus retail. Action in financial markets by central banks is usually regarded as intervention rather than participation.
Sup ...
. The earliest savings bonds were the
war bond
War bonds (sometimes referred to as victory bonds, particularly in propaganda) are Security (finance)#Debt, debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an un ...
programs of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Examples of savings bonds include:
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Canada Savings Bond
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Ontario Savings Bond
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Saskatchewan Savings Bond
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Japanese Government Bonds for Retail Investors
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United States Savings Bonds
United States Savings Bonds are debt securities issued by the United States Department of the Treasury to help pay for the U.S. government's borrowing needs. They are considered one of the safest investments because they are backed by the full fa ...
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Bonds (finance)