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Q7·GS Paper 1 · Prelims 2025

Bondholders vs Stockholders

EconomyFinancial Markets & InstrumentsAssertion-ReasonEasyStatic

Question

Consider the following statements: Statement I: As regards returns from an investment in a company, generally, bondholders are considered to be relatively at lower risk than stockholders. Statement II: Bondholders are lenders to a company whereas stockholders are its owners. Statement III: For repayment purpose, bondholders are prioritized over stockholders by a company. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Options

a

Both Statement II and Statement III are correct and both of them explain Statement I

Answer
b

Both Statement II and Statement III are correct but only one of them explains Statement I

c

Only one of the Statements II and III is correct and that explains Statement I

d

Neither Statement II nor Statement III is correct

Explanation

All three statements are correct, and both II and III explain I.

Bondholders face lower risk (Statement I) precisely because they are creditors with a legal right to fixed interest (Statement II), and in the event of liquidation, debt claims are satisfied before equity claims (Statement III).

Debt holds seniority over equity in the capital structure hierarchy.

Answer: (a).

Question details

Year

2025

Paper

GS Paper 1

Question

Q7

Subject

Economy

Sub-topic

Financial Markets & Instruments

Type

Assertion-Reason

Difficulty

Easy

Nature

Static

Source hint

NCERT Economy Cl.11 Ch.8 / Corporate Finance & Capital Structure

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