Call provision is the right of the issuer to call back and retire the issued bonds before the maturity date. The issuer may call the bond and retire the bond by paying a price, known as call price. The call price is determined from the call schedule which sets forth a call price based on when the bond is being called. When an issue has a deferred call, the issuer does not call the bond for a specified number of years. The date at which the bond may first be called is referred to as the first call date.
In July 1993, Walt Disney Company issued $300,000,000 in senior debentures (bonds). The debentures carried an interest rate of 7.55%, payable semiannually, and priced at "par". They are due to be repaid on July 15, 2093, a full one hundred years after the date of issue. However, The first call date for the bond is July 15, 2023.
Bonds can be called in whole or in part. When less than entire issue is called, the bonds to be called are either selected randomly or pro-rata basis.