Gilt-edged securities are bonds issued by certain national governments. The term is of British origin, and originally referred to the debt securities issued by the Bank of England, which had a gilt (or gilded) edge. Hence, they are known as gilt-edged securities, or gilts for short. Today the term is used in the United Kingdom as well as some Commonwealth nations, such as South Africa and India. However when reference is made to gilts, what is generally meant is UK gilts unless otherwise specified.
The data collected by the British Office for National Statistics reveal that about two-thirds of all UK gilts are held by insurance companies and pension funds. Since 2009 large quantities of gilts have been created and repurchased by the Bank of England under its policy of quantitative easing.
The term "gilt account" is also a term used by the Reserve Bank of India to refer to a constituent account maintained by a custodian bank for maintenance and servicing of dematerialized government securities owned by a retail customer.
Read more about Gilt-edged Securities: Conventional Gilts, Index-linked Gilts, Double-dated Gilts, Undated Gilts, Gilt Strips, Maturity of Gilts