In corporate finance and investment banking, a back stop (or backstop) is to provide last-resort support or to make a bid in a securities offering for the unsubscribed portion of shares.

在公司金融和投资银行业务中，回售止损旨在提供最后的支持，或在证券发行中对未认购部分的股票进行投标。

When a company is trying to raise capital through an issuance—and wants to guarantee the amount received through the issue—it may get a back stop from an underwriter or a major shareholder, such as an investment bank, to buy any of its unsubscribed shares.

当一家公司试图通过发行筹集资金，并希望保证通过发行获得的金额时，它可能会从承销商或主要股东（如投资银行）那里获得回售止损，以购买任何未认购的股票。

How a Back Stop Works

回售止损的作用

A back stop functions as a form of insurance. While not an actual insurance plan, a company can guarantee that a certain amount of its offering will be purchased by particular organizations, usually investment banking firms, if the open market does not produce enough investors and a portion of the offering goes unsold.

回售止损是一种保险。虽然不是一个实际的保险计划，但如果公开市场没有产生足够的投资者，并且部分发行未售出，公司可以保证其发行的一定数量的股票将被特定的组织购买，通常是投资银行公司。

If the organization providing the back stop is an investment banking firm, sub-underwriters representing the investment firm will enter into an agreement with the company. This agreement is referred to as a firm-commitment underwriting deal or contract, and it provides overall support for the offering by committing to purchase a specific number of unsold shares.

如果提供回售止损的机构是一家投资银行公司，代表该投资公司的分承销商将与该公司签订协议。该协议被称为确定承诺承销交易或合同，它通过承诺购买特定数量的未售股票来为发行提供全面支持。

By entering into a firm-commitment underwriting agreement, the associated organization has claimed full responsibility for the quantity of shares specified if they initially go unsold, and promises to provide the associated capital in exchange for the available shares.

通过签订确定承诺承销协议，相关机构声称对最初未售出的指定数量的股份承担全部责任，并承诺提供相关资本以换取可用股份。

This gives assurance to the issuer that the minimum capital can be raised regardless of the open market activity. Additionally, all risk associated with the specified shares is effectively transferred to the underwritten organization.

这向发行人保证，无论公开市场活动如何，都可以筹集到最低资本。此外，与特定股票相关的所有风险实际上都转移给了承销机构。

If all of the offering is purchased through regular investment vehicles, the contract obligating the organization to purchase any unsold shares is rendered void, as the conditions surrounding the promise to purchase no longer exist.

如果所有股票都是通过常规投资工具购买的，则责成机构购买任何未售出股票的合同无效，因为承诺购买的条件不复存在。

Special Considerations

特别注意事项

If the underwriting organization takes possession of any shares, as specified in the agreement, the shares belong to the organization to manage as it sees fit. The shares are treated the same way as any other investment purchased through normal market activity. The issuing company can impose no restrictions on how the shares are traded.

如果承销机构根据协议的规定获得任何股份，这些股份将归该机构所有，由其自行管理。这些股票与通过正常市场活动购买的任何其他投资一样对待。发行公司不能限制股票的交易方式。

The underwriting organization may subsequently hold or sell the associated securities per the regulations that govern the activity overall.

承销机构随后可以根据适用整个活动的法规持有或出售相关证券。

Example of a Back Stop

回售止损的示例

In a rights offering, you may see a statement to this effect: "ABC Company will provide a 100 percent back stop of up to $100 million for any unsubscribed portion of the XYZ Company rights offering." If XYZ is trying to raise $200 million, but only raises $100 million through investors, then ABC Company purchases the remainder.

在配股发行中，您可能会看到这样的声明:“ABC公司将为XYZ公司配股发行的任何未认购部分提供高达1亿美元的100%回售止损。”如果XYZ试图筹集2亿美元，但只通过投资者筹集了1亿美元，那么ABC公司将购买剩余部分。

What Is a Back Stop in a Bond Issue?

什么是债券发行的回售止损？

Similar to the back stop in an equity placement, a back stop for a bond issue is a type of guarantee whereby the underwriting bank or syndicate will fix a price at which to purchase any unsold or unsubscribed bonds.

与股票配售中的回售止损类似，债券发行的回售止损是一种担保，承销银行或银团将据此确定购买任何未售出或未认购债券的价格。

Who Are Backstop Purchasers?

谁是回售止损购买者？

If the underwriting bank or investment banking syndicate cannot or do not want to back stop a new issue, third-party backstop purchasers may be called upon to step in and buy any unsubscribed portion of a securities issue. These purchasers may provide a bid substantially below the issue price and/or may demand fees as compensation. They would then often try to sell off the holdings over time at a profit.

如果承销银行或投资银行辛迪加不能或不想回售止损新的发行股票，第三方回售止损购买者可能被要求介入并购买证券发行的任何未认购部分。这些购买者可能提供大大低于发行价格的出价和/或可能要求费用作为补偿。但是，他们往往会试图在一段时间内抛售这些资产以获利。

What Are Volcker Rule Backstop Provisions?

什么是沃尔克规则保障条款？

The Volcker Rule is a set of financial regulations that separates the commercial and investment banking activities of a firm. Its purpose is to prevent conflicts of interest and unfair practices to the detriment of a bank's customers. One provision of the Rule is to prevent the backstopping of a securities issue by an underwriting bank if it will create a conflict of interest. Moreover, a back stop would be prohibited if it would "result, directly or indirectly, in a material exposure by the banking entity to a high-risk asset or a high-risk trading strategy; or pose a threat to the safety and soundness of the banking entity or to the financial stability of the United States."

沃尔克规则是一套分隔公司商业和投资银行活动的金融法规。其目的是防止损害银行客户利益的利益冲突和不公平行为。该规则的一项规定是，如果承销银行回售止损证券发行会造成利益冲突，就要防止这种回售止损。此外，如果“直接或间接导致银行实体对高风险资产或高风险交易策略的重大风险敞口”，或对银行实体的安全和稳健或美国的金融稳定构成威胁，则禁止回售止损。”

（英文来源：Investopedia）