# Sovereign Bond

*Markets & Instruments — Finicade finance glossary*

A sovereign bond is debt issued by a national government, and it anchors the pricing of everything else in that currency. The critical distinction is the currency of issue: a government borrowing in its own currency can always print to repay, so its risk is inflation and devaluation rather than default, while one borrowing in a foreign currency genuinely can and does default. That asymmetry explains most emerging-market debt crises.

**Also known as:** gilts, bunds, sovereign debt, sovereign debt market

**Related terms:** [Treasury Bond](https://finicade.com/glossary/treasury-bond), [Credit Rating](https://finicade.com/glossary/credit-rating), [Government Debt](https://finicade.com/glossary/government-debt), [Yield Curve](https://finicade.com/glossary/yield-curve), [Country Risk](https://finicade.com/glossary/country-risk)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/sovereign-bond