THE MISSING LINK.

The article looks at the challenge of making corporate retail bonds attractive to investors and bond issuers. A factor that hampered the demand for retail bonds is the high interest rates paid by banks for deposits. Other barriers to retail bond issuance include the longer time needed to execute the bonds, legal costs and brokerage fees, and its uncertain level of demand. For non-rated firms that do not have the option of selling bonds in the domestic or international wholesale markets, the retail bond market remains a relevant form of financing.