Bonds are - from the investor's point of view - so-called debt securities and may be issued by different issuers (e.g., banks, sovereigns, corporates, residential banks, supranational institutions such as the World Bank). In principle, bonds differ in terms of the issuer's credit rating, rank, coupon, currency and maturity.
The credit rating provides information about the default probability of a debtor. The amount of the interest on a bond depends u. a. from the credit rating. The higher the coupon, the higher the default probability.
In terms of rank, we distinguish between covered bonds (mortgage and municipal bonds), unsecured (senior) bonds and subordinated bonds. The liabilities from normal bonds are considered direct, unconditional and non-subordinated (also called senior debt). In the case of bankruptcy, these are first-ranked, i.e. having their claims satisfied before all other creditors.