DECEMBER 1, 1995
DREYFUS MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC.
SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS DATED DECEMBER 29, 1994
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTS AND SHOULD BE READ IN
CONJUNCTION WITH THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE SECTION OF THE FUND'S
PROSPECTUS ENTITLED "DESCRIPTION OF THE FUND - MANAGEMENT POLICIES":
The Fund may invest, to a limited extent, in derivatives
("Derivatives"). These are financial instruments which derive their
performance, at least in part, from the performance of an underlying asset,
index or interest rate. The Derivatives the Fund may use include options and
futures. While Derivatives can be used effectively in furtherance of the
Fund's investment objective, under certain market conditions, they can
increase the volatility of the Fund's net asset value, can decrease the
liquidity of the Fund's investments and make more difficult the accurate
pricing of the Fund's portfolio. Investments in certain derivatives may give
rise to taxable income.
Although the Fund will not be a commodity pool, Derivatives subject
the Fund to the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission which limit
the extent to which the Fund can invest in certain Derivatives. The Fund may
invest in futures contracts and options with respect thereto for hedging
purposes without limit. However, the Fund may not invest in such contracts
and options for other purposes if the sum of the amount of initial margin
deposits and premiums paid for unexpired options with respect to such
contracts, other than for bona fide hedging purposes, exceed 5% of the
liquidation value of the Fund's assets, after taking into account unrealized
profits and unrealized losses on such contracts and options; provided,
however, that in the case of an option that is in-the-money at the time of
purchase, the in-the-money amount may be excluded in calculating the 5%
limitation.
The Fund may invest up to 5% of its assets, represented by the
premium paid, in the purchase of call and put options. The Fund may write
(i.e., sell) covered call and put option contracts to the extent of 20% of
the value of its net assets at the time such option contracts are written.
When required by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Fund will set
aside permissible liquid assets in a segregated account to cover its
obligations relating to its purchase of Derivatives. To maintain this required
cover, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities at disadvantageous
prices or times since it may not be possible to liquidate a Derivative
position at a reasonable price.
Derivatives may entail investment exposures that are greater than
their cost would suggest, meaning that a small investment in Derivatives
could have a large potential impact on the the Fund's performance.
If the Fund invests in Derivatives at inappropriate times or judges
market conditions incorrectly, such investments may lower the Fund's return
or result in a loss. The Fund also could experience losses if its Derivatives
were poorly correlated with its other investments, or if the Fund were unable
to liquidate its position because of an illiquid secondary market. The market
for many
(CONTINUED ON REVERSE SIDE)
Derivatives is, or suddenly can become, illiquid. Changes in liquidity may
result in significant, rapid and unpredictable changes in the prices for
Derivatives.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTS AND SHOULD BE READ IN
CONJUNCTION WITH THE SECTIONS OF THE FUND'S PROSPECTUS ENTITLED "HOW TO BUY
FUND SHARES" AND "SHAREHOLDER SERVICES":
Fund shares are also offered without regard to the minimum initial
investment requirements through Dreyfus-AUTOMATIC Asset Builder, Dreyfus
Government Direct Deposit Privilege or Dreyfus Payroll Savings Plan pursuant
to the Dreyfus Step Program. These services enable you to make regularly
scheduled investments and may provide you with a convenient way to invest for
long-term financial goals. You should be aware, however, that periodic
investment plans do not guarantee a profit and will not protect an investor
against loss in a declining market.
DREYFUS STEP PROGRAM - Dreyfus Step Program enables you to purchase Fund
shares without regard to the Fund's minimum initial investment requirements
through Dreyfus-AUTOMATIC Asset Builder, Dreyfus Government Direct Deposit
Privilege or Dreyfus Payroll Savings Plan. To establish a Dreyfus Step
Program account, you must supply the necessary information on the Fund's
Account Application and file the required authorization form(s) with the
Transfer Agent. For more information concerning this Program, or to request
the necessary authorization form(s), please call toll free 1-800-782-6620.
You may terminate your participation in this Program at any time by
discontinuing your participation in Dreyfus-AUTOMATIC Asset Builder, Dreyfus
Government Direct Deposit Privilege or Dreyfus Payroll Savings Plan, as the
case may be, as provided under the terms of such Privilege(s). The Fund may
modify or terminate this Program at any time.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTS AND REPLACES ANY CONTRARY
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE SECTIONS OF THE FUND'S PROSPECTUS ENTITLED
"MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND," "HOW TO BUY FUND SHARES," "SHAREHOLDER SERVICES"
AND "HOW TO REDEEM FUND SHARES":
Dreyfus Transfer, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Dreyfus
Corporation, is located at One American Express Plaza, Providence, Rhode
Island 02903, and serves as the Fund's Transfer and Dividend Disbursing Agent
(the "Transfer Agent").
Effective January 1, 1996, the telephone number for the following
transactions is 1-800-645-6561 or, if you are calling from overseas,
516-794-5452:
* Dreyfus TELETRANSFER Privilege
* Telephone Exchange Privilege
* Wire Redemption Privilege
* Telephone Redemption Privilege
054s120195
December 1, 1995
DREYFUS MUNICIPAL BOND FUND, INC.
Supplement to the Statement of Additional Information
Dated December 29, 1994
The following information supplements and should be read in
conjunction with the information contained in the Fund's Statement of
Additional Information entitled "Investment Objective and Management
Policies."
Derivatives. The Fund may invest in Derivatives (as defined in the
Fund's Prospectus Supplement) for a variety of reasons, including to hedge
certain market risks, to provide a substitute for purchasing or selling
particular securities or to increase potential income gain. Derivatives
may provide a cheaper, quicker or more specifically focused way for the
Fund to invest than "traditional" securities would.
Derivatives can be volatile and involve various types and degrees of
risk, depending upon the characteristics of the particular Derivative and
the portfolio as a whole. Derivatives permit the Fund to increase,
decrease or change the level of risk to which its portfolio is exposed in
much the same way as the Fund can increase, decrease or change the risk of
its portfolio by making investments in specific securities.
When required by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Fund
will set aside permissible liquid assets in a segregated account to cover
its obligations relating to its purchase of Derivatives. To maintain this
required cover, the Fund may have to sell portfolio securities at
disadvantageous prices or times since it may not be possible to liquidate
a Derivative position at a reasonable price. Derivatives may be purchased
on established exchanges or through privately negotiated transactions
referred to as over-the-counter Derivatives. Exchange-traded Derivatives
generally are guaranteed by the clearing agency which is the issuer or
counterparty to such Derivatives. This guarantee usually is supported by
a daily payment system (i.e., margin requirements) operated by the
clearing ageny in order to reduce overall credit risk. As a result,
unless the clearing agency defaults, there is relatively little
counterparty credit risk associated with Derivatives purchased on an
exchange. By contrast, no clearing agency guarantees over-the-counter
Derivatives. Therefore, each party to an over-the-counter Derivative
bears the risk that the counterparty will default. Accordingly, the
Manager will consider the creditworthiness of counterparties to over-the-
counter Derivatives in the same manner as it would review the credit
quality of a security to be purchased by the Fund. Over-the-counter
Derivatives are less liquid than exchange-traded Derivatives since the
other party to the transaction may be the only investor with sufficient
understanding of the Derivative to be interested in bidding for it.
Futures Transactions--In General. The Fund may enter into futures
contracts in U.S. domestic markets, such as the Chicago Board of Trade.
Engaging in these transactions involves risk of loss to the Fund which
could adversely affect the value of the Fund's net assets. Although the
Fund intends to purchase or sell futures contracts only if there is an
active market for such contracts, no assurance can be given that a liquid
market will exist for any particular contract at any particular time.
Many futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation
permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once
the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may
be made that day at a price beyond that limit or trading may be suspended
for specified periods during the trading day. Futures contract prices
could move to the limit for several consecutive trading days with little
or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions
and potentially subjecting the Fund to substantial losses.
Successful use of futures by the Fund also is subject to the ability
of the Manager to predict correctly movements in the direction of the
relevant market and, to the extent the transaction is entered into for
hedging purposes, to ascertain the appropriate correlation between the
transaction being hedged and the price movements of the futures contract.
For example, if the Fund uses futures to hedge against the possibility of
a decline in the market value of securities held in its portfolio and the
prices of such securities instead increase, the Fund will lose part or all
of the benefit of the increased value of securities which it has hedged
because it will have offsetting losses in its futures positions.
Furthermore, if in such circumstances the Fund has insufficient cash, it
may have to sell securities to meet daily variation margin requirements.
The Fund may have to sell such securities at a time when it may be
disadvantageous to do so.
Pursuant to regulations and/or published positions of the Securities
and Exchange Commission, the Fund may be required to segregate cash or
high quality money market instruments in connection with its commodities
transactions in an amount generally equal to the value of the underlying
commodity. The segregation of such assets will have the effect of
limiting a Fund's ability otherwise to invest those assets.
Specific Futures Transactions. The Fund may purchase and sell
interest rate futures contracts. An interest rate future obligates the
Fund to purchase or sell an amount of a specific debt security at a future
date at a specific price.
Options--In General. The Fund may purchase and write (i.e., sell)
call or put options with respect to specific securities. A call option
gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and obligates the
writer to sell, the underlying security or securities at the exercise
price at any time during the option period, or at a specific date.
Conversely, a put option gives the purchaser of the option the right to
sell, and obligates the writer to buy, the underlying security or
securities at the exercise price at any time during the option period.
A covered call option written by the Fund is a call option with
respect to which the Fund owns the underlying security or otherwise covers
the transaction by segregating cash or other securities. A put option
written by the Fund is covered when, among other things, cash or liquid
securities having a value equal to or greater than the exercise price of
the option are placed in a segregated account with the Fund's custodian to
fulfill the obligation undertaken. The principal reason for writing
covered call and put options is to realize, through the receipt of
premiums, a greater return than would be realized on the underlying
securities alone. The Fund receives a premium from writing covered call
or put options which it retains whether or not the option is exercised.
There is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a
liquid secondary market on a securities exchange will exist for any
particular option or at any particular time, and for some options no such
secondary market may exist. A liquid secondary market in an option may
cease to exist for a variety of reasons. In the past, for example, higher
than anticipated trading activity or order flow, or other unforeseen
events, at times have rendered certain of the clearing facilities
inadequate and resulted in the institution of special procedures, such as
trading rotations, restrictions on certain types of orders or trading
halts or suspensions in one or more options. There can be no assurance
that similar events, or events that may otherwise interfere with the
timely execution of customers' orders, will not recur. In such event, it
might not be possible to effect closing transactions in particular
options. If, as a covered call option writer, the Fund is unable to
effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not
be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or it
delivers the underlying security upon exercise or it otherwise covers its
position.
Future Developments. The Fund may take advantage of opportunities in
the area of options and futures contracts and options on futures contracts
and any other Derivatives which are not presently contemplated for use by
the Fund or which are not currently available but which may be developed,
to the extent such opportunities are both consistent with the Fund's
investment objective and legally permissible for the Fund. Before
entering into such transactions or making any such investment, the Fund
will provide appropriate disclosure in its Prospectus or Statement of
Additional Information.
The following information supplements and replaces any contrary
information contained in the following indicated sections of the Fund's
Statement of Additional Information:
PURCHASE OF FUND SHARES
Dreyfus TeleTransfer Privilege. Dreyfus TeleTransfer purchase orders
may be made at any time. Purchase orders received by 4:00 P.M., New York
time, on any business day that Dreyfus Transfer, Inc., the Fund's transfer
and dividend disbursing agent (the "Transfer Agent"), and the New York
Stock Exchange are open for business will be credited to the shareholder's
Fund account on the next bank business day following such purchase order.
Purchase orders made after 4:00 P.M., New York time, on any business day
the Transfer Agent and the New York Stock Exchange are open for business,
or orders made on Saturday, Sunday or any Fund holiday (e.g., when the New
York Stock Exchange is not open for business), will be credited to the
shareholder's Fund account on the second bank business day following such
purchase order.
CUSTODIAN, TRANSFER AND DIVIDEND DISBURSING AGENT,
COUNSEL AND INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
Dreyfus Transfer, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Manager, is
located at One American Express Plaza, Providence, Rhode Island 02903,
and serves as the Fund's transfer and dividend disbursing agent. Under a
transfer agency agreement with the Fund, the Transfer Agent arranges for
the maintenance of shareholder account records for the Fund, the handling
of certain communications between shareholders and the Fund and the
payment of dividends and distributions payable by the Fund. For these
services, the Transfer Agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis
of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the Fund during the
month, and is reimbursed for certain out-of-pocket expenses. The Transfer
Agent has no part in determining the investment policies of the Fund or
which securities are to be purchased or sold by the Fund.
