Question

Difficulty: EasyGovernment, Municipal, and Corporate Bonds

Match each type of bond security with its primary backing or defining structural characteristic.

  • General Obligation (GO) BondBacked by the full faith, credit, and taxing power of a municipal issuer.
  • Revenue BondBacked by earnings from a specific project or facility, such as a toll road or airport.
  • Corporate DebentureAn unsecured corporate obligation backed solely by the general creditworthiness of the issuer.
  • Treasury Inflation-Protected Security (TIPS)A U.S. government debt security whose principal value adjusts periodically based on changes in the Consumer Price Index.

Answer

General Obligation bonds match with full faith and taxing power backing; Revenue bonds match with project revenue backing; Corporate Debentures match with unsecured corporate credit backing; TIPS match with CPI-adjusted principal backing.
Each debt instrument is correctly paired with its distinct backing structure: General Obligation bonds depend on municipal taxing authority, Revenue bonds rely on project revenues, Corporate debentures depend on unsecured corporate creditworthiness, and TIPS feature inflation-indexed principal adjustments.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Differentiate municipal security backing mechanisms
GO bonds rely on full municipal taxing power, while Revenue bonds rely solely on income generated by a designated facility or utility.
Municipal bonds are divided into two main categories based on the source of debt service repayment.
2
Identify corporate bond collateral categories
Debentures are unsecured obligations without pledged physical assets or collateral.
Corporate debt instruments are classified as either secured (backed by asset liens) or unsecured (debentures backed by credit standing).
3
Identify U.S. Treasury inflation-hedging instruments
TIPS adjust their principal value upward or downward based on CPI inflation measurements.
TIPS are explicitly structured to protect bondholders against purchasing power risk.

Key Concept

Classification and Backing of Government, Municipal, and Corporate Bonds
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