A vulture fund is a financial organization that specializes in buying securities in distressed environments, such as high-yield bonds in or near default, or equities that are in or near bankruptcy. As the name suggests, these funds are metaphorically like circling vultures patiently waiting to pick over the remains of a rapidly weakening debtor. Vulture funds have sometimes sued national governments with success, in order to freeze their assets. International courts have at times prevented countries from paying to other debtors because one of these funds had requested an embargo.