Deferred call

Deferred call

A provision that prohibits the company from calling the bond before a certain date. During this period the bond is said to be call protected.

Period of Call Protection

In callable bonds, a period of time during which a bond may not be prematurely redeemed. Interest payments are guaranteed during the call protection period but not afterward. The bond may be redeemed at any point after the call date, which means that the issuer could return the principal to bondholders and interest payments would cease. The period of call protection exists to protect bondholders from the risk that interest rates will fall before the call date. The period of time is often called the cushion.