Normally, the investment bank facilitates this transaction using a firm commitment underwriting. The investment bank guarantees the firm a price for newly issued bonds by buying the whole issue at a fixed price (the bid price) from the bond issuing firm at a discount from par. The investment bank then seeks to resell these securities to investors at a higher price (the offer price). As a result, the investment bank takes a risk that it may not be able to resell the securities to investors at a higher price. Some corporate securities are offered on a best efforts (underwriting) basis, in which the underwriter does not guarantee a firm price to the issuer (as with a firm commitment offering). Here, the underwriter acts more as a placing or distribution agent for a fee.