A corporate bond investment or its return must not be described as guaranteed, safe or risk-free, including phrases such as guaranteed return, guaranteed interest rate, invest with a guarantee or guaranteed profit. Equating bonds with bank deposits or government bonds, and using the names of the National Bank of Slovakia or Investment Guarantee Fund for promotion, are also bad practices. The NBS may prohibit publication of such material or suspend it for ten working days.
Language that should not be used for bonds
The National Bank of Slovakia’s supervisory benchmark on corporate bond distribution gives specific examples of bad marketing practices, including phrases such as:
- “guaranteed return”;
- “guaranteed interest rate”;
- “invest with a guarantee”;
- “guaranteed profit”;
- “a guaranteed …% per month on investments from EUR …”.
The underlying rule is broader than this list: words or phrases describing a corporate bond investment or its return as guaranteed, safe or risk-free are unacceptable. The restriction concerns the impression conveyed, so replacing words with synonyms does not avoid it.
Three other practices to avoid
Do not equate bonds with deposits. Treating a corporate bond investment as equivalent to a bank deposit or government bond investment is considered bad practice. These instruments have different risk profiles and protections.
Do not use institutional names. Using the names of the National Bank of Slovakia or Investment Guarantee Fund to promote bonds or issuers is likewise unacceptable.
Do not present prospectus approval as a quality mark. The NBS considers it bad practice for a distributor to market the approval of a prospectus as a quality criterion or an indication of lower investment risk. See whether prospectus approval means an issue is safe for more detail.
Marketing is part of legal preparation
This is more than a supervisory expectation for distributors. The Securities Act empowers the National Bank of Slovakia to prohibit publication of a communication, advertisement, poster or similar document, or suspend it for ten working days, if publication or continued publication would breach the rules (Section 120(8)).
For an issue with a launch campaign and a fixed subscription period, ten working days is a significant loss. Investor copy therefore belongs within the legal preparation of an issue. The same rules apply to websites, presentations, emails and social media posts.
See also when a bond offer is a public offer and our bond issuance in Slovakia service.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 9 August 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
