Hard Call Protection

Hard Call Protection is a temporary ban imposed on a callable bond issuer to exercise the call or redeem the bonds before maturity. It is one of the call protection types, along with Soft Call Protection.

Hard Call Protection features:
- Under the Hard Call Protection, a time period during which an issuer cannot exercise the call of the issued debt instruments shall usually be defined, thus guaranteeing investors a clearly defined period during which they will be able to gain income.
- The duration of the Hard Call Protection can vary depending on the issuer’s decision fixed at the time of debt issue.
- After the Hard Call Protection period expires, the Soft Call Protection can also be used.
- This instrument reduces risks to callable bond investors.

As a rule, the issuer defines the date before which its call option cannot be exercised, e.g. the first 5.5 years as applied to Veolia Environnement, 2.25% perp., EUR and 8.5 years as applied to Veolia Environnement, 2.5% perp., EUR .