A Bearer Bond is a bond, share, or other financial instrument that is issued without registration of the owner. It is delivered to the purchaser as a physical document, and it does not carry any ownership information.[citation needed] It is for this reason that bearer bonds are also called "bearer securities".Bearer bonds are usually issued by governments and government agencies, but they have also been issued by corporations in many countries.Bearer bonds have been most commonly issued in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, and Italy. By contrast, bearer bonds have been banned in the United Kingdom since the 19th century.Bearer bonds have been used to finance government projects such as railways, but they have also been used simply to raise funds from investors. Bearer bonds are legal documents entitling the owner to receive some interest payment, or at maturity the face value of the bond. Bearer bonds were regularly used by companies to get around certain types of financial regulation. For example, they were extensively used by utility companies.
