A bail bon agent, or bondsman, is any person or corporation which will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of a criminal defendant in court. Although banks, insurance companies and other similar institutions are usually the sureties on other types of contracts, for example, to bond a contractor who is under a contractual obligation to pay for the completion of a construction project, such entities are reluctant to put their depositors' or policyholders' funds at the kind of risk involved in posting a bail bond. Bail bond agents, on the other hand, are usually in the business to cater exclusively to criminal defendants, often securing their customers' release in just a few hours. Bail bond agents are almost exclusively found in the United States. In most other countries bail is usually more modest and the practice of bounty hunting is illegal.