A term used to identify a foreign bond issued in Spain by a company that is not domiciled in Spain. Matador bonds were bonds denominated in pesetas, and were usually corporate bonds. 
The market for matador bonds grew rapidly between 1987 and 1999, and attracted many large local and foreign investors. The name matador originated from the bullfighters in Spain. 



|||Spain followed a systematic approach when accepting new foreign issuers. Spain initially only allowed AAA-rated supranationals to issue matador bonds, then a few years later allowed other sub-AAA multinationals access to Spain's debt markets, and eventually it allowed non-investment grade sovereigns to issue bonds.