indenture

n.

1. A contract binding one party into the service of another for a specified term. Often used in the plural.
2. 1. A document in duplicate having indented edges.
   2. A deed or legal contract executed between two or more parties.
   3. An official or authenticated inventory, list, or voucher.
3. Indentation.

tr.v., -tured, -tur·ing, -tures.

1. To bind into the service of another by indenture.
2. Archaic. To form a small depression in (a surface).

[Middle English endenture, a written agreement, from Anglo-Norman, from endenter, to indent (from the matching notches on multiple copies of the documents). See indent¹.]

A contract between an issuer of bonds and the bondholder stating the time period before repayment, amount of interest paid, if the bond is convertible (and if so, at what price or what ratio), if the bond is callable and the amount of money that is to be repaid.

Investopedia Says:
The indenture is another name for the bond contract terms, which are also referred to as a deed of trust.

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1. Written agreement specifying the terms and conditions for issuing bonds, stating the form of the bond being offered for sale, interest to be paid, the maturity date, call provisions and protective covenants, if any, collateral pledged, the repayment schedule, and other terms. It describes the legal obligations of a bond issuer and the powers of the bond Trustee who has the responsibility, under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, for ensuring that interest payments are made to registered bondholders.

2. Mortgage or deed of trust securing a lien against real property, specifying covenants and conditions, as agreed by the seller (the grantor) and the buyer.

A written agreement made between 2 or more persons having different interests.
Example: The indenture Trustee enforces the agreement made between the Bond issuer (borrower) and the lender.

This entry contains information applicable to United States law only.

The term indenture, which primarily describes financial contracts, has several applications in U.S. law. At its simplest, an indenture is an agreement that declares benefits and obligations between two or more parties. In bankruptcy law, for example, it is a mortgage or deed of trust that constitutes a claim against a debtor. The most common usage of indenture appears in the bond market. Before a bond is issued, the issuer executes a legally binding indenture governing all the bond's terms. Finally, the concept of indenture has an ignominious place in the history of U.S. labor. Indentured servants of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were commonly European workers who contracted to provide labor for a number of years and in return received passage to the American colonies as well as room and board.

An investment product that is used to raise capital, a bond is simply a written document by which a government, corporation, or individual promises to pay a definite sum of money on a certain date. The issuer of a bond, in cooperation with an underwriter (a financial organization that sells the bond to the public), prepares in advance an indenture outlining the terms of the bond. The issuer and the underwriter negotiate provisions such as the interest rate, the maturity date, and any restrictions on the issuer's actions. The last detail is especially important to corporate bonds, because corporations accrue liability upon becoming bond issuers and therefore seek to have the fewest possible restrictions placed on their business behavior by the terms of the indenture. As a consequence, potential buyers of corporate bonds should know what the indenture specifies before buying.

Federal law governs these indentures. For fifty years, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (TIA) (15 U.S.C.A. § 77aaa) was the relevant law. Significant changes in financial markets prompted Congress to amend the TIA through the Securities Act Amendments of 1990 (Pub. L. No. 101-550, 1990; 104 Stat. 2713), which included the Trust Indenture Reform Act (Pub. L. No. 101-550, 104 Stat. 2713). The reforms simplified the writing of indentures, recognized the increasing internationalization of corporations by creating opportunities for foreign institutions to serve as trustees, and revised standards for conflicts of interest. The reforms also broadened the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In early American history indenture was a form of labor contract. Beginning in the colonial period, employers in the largely agricultural economy faced a labor shortage. They addressed it in two ways: by buying slaves and by hiring indentured servants. The former were Africans brought to the colonies against their will to serve for life; the latter were generally Europeans from England and Germany who had entered multiyear employment contracts. From the late sixteenth century to the late eighteenth century approximately half of the 350,000 European immigrants to the colonies were indentured servants. During the seventeenth century these servants outnumbered slaves.

An indentured servant agreed to a four- to seven-year contract, and in return received passage from Europe and guarantees of work, food, and lodging. Colonial courts enforced the contracts of indentured servants, which were often harsh. Employers were seen as masters, and the servants had not only to work for them but to obey their orders in all matters. For some, indentured servitude was not a voluntary act. Impoverished women and children were pressed into servitude, as were convicts. Nevertheless, this servitude was not equivalent to slavery. Slaves remained slaves for life, whereas indentured servants were released at the end of their contract. Moreover, as parties to a contract, indentured servants had rights never enjoyed by slaves. The practice of indentured servitude persisted into the early nineteenth century.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - bule, hak, lærekontrakt
v. tr. - lave buler/hakker, oprette lærekontrakt med

Nederlands (Dutch)
document in duplo, (mv) contract, officiële lijst/ diploma, binden d.m.v. contract

Français (French)
n. - (Jur) contrat synallagmatique, contrat/brevet d'apprentissage (npl)
v. tr. - (Hist) prendre (qn) en apprentissage, engager sous contrat, engager (qn) par un brevet d'apprentissage

Deutsch (German)
n. - Vertrag, Urkunde, amtl. Liste od. Bescheinigung
v. - durch einen (Ausbildungs)vertrag binden

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - εγκοπή, εντομή, (νομ.) συγγραφή υποχρεώσεων, συμφωνητικό
v. - δεσμεύω/-ομαι με συμφωνητικό ή με συγγραφή υποχρεώσεων

Italiano (Italian)
contratto, inventario, dentellatura, vincolare con un contratto

Português (Portuguese)
n. - contrato (m)
v. - contratar (um aprendiz)

Русский (Russian)
двустроннее соглашение, извилистая линия, соединение с помощью зазубрин, двигаться зигзагами, заключать соглашение

Español (Spanish)
n. - contrato, documento redactado en partes, escritura
v. tr. - escriturar, contratar, obligar por contrato

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (arbets)kontrakt, lärlingskontrakt
v. - anställa med kontrakt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
定期服务合同, 双联契据, 凭单, 以契约约束

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 定期服務合同, 雙聯契據, 憑單
v. tr. - 以契約約束

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 계약서, 새김눈을 붙임, 신탁증서
v. tr. - 도제살이로 보내다, 계약서로 약정하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 契約書, 年季奉公の証文, 証書, 刻み目
v. - 年季奉公させる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) وثيقه رسميه (فعل) يلزم شخصا بالعمل حسب العقد‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קשר (עפ"י הסכם), הסכם (בשני העתקים), תעודה רשמית‬
v. tr. - ‮קשר אדם בחוזה, בייחוד כחניך‬

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