Four main categories of bond issuers.

• Sovereign governments
  They issue bonds principally to cover a shortfall between taxation revenue and expenditure.
• Government agencies, municipals, and local government authorities
  They issue bonds to fund their services and operations.
• Various supranational authorities
  Such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, the original institution of the World Bank Group) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC, a member of the World Bank Group), engage in major bond issuance to fund lending to developing countries.
• Corporations
  Corporations of all types and sizes use bonds as an important source of funding for their operations and activities.