What is a century bond?

"Century bond" is a bond loan with a maturity of one hundred years. Although 'century loan' would be an appropriate Dutch translation, this term is hardly ever used anymore. Despite their name, some 100-year bonds are redeemable early, which means that they can already be repaid before the full maturity of a century has expired.

A well-known example is the bond that Disney issued in 1993, which should mature in 2093 but can already be repaid from 2023.

Century bonds offer investors the opportunity to invest in the extremely long term, but it is important to know that the issuer often has the flexibility to repay the loan earlier.