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Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR
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<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000869392-02-000184.txt : 20021028
<SEC-HEADER>0000869392-02-000184.hdr.sgml : 20021028
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20021028143944
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000869392-02-000184
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	NSAR-B
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		6
CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT:	20020831
FILED AS OF DATE:		20021028
EFFECTIVENESS DATE:		20021028

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			PUTNAM HIGH INCOME CONVERTIBLE & BOND FUND
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000810943
		IRS NUMBER:				046562068
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			MA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0831

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		NSAR-B
		SEC ACT:		1940 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	811-05133
		FILM NUMBER:		02799759

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		ONE POST OFFICE SQ
		STREET 2:		MAILSTOP A 14
		CITY:			BOSTON
		STATE:			MA
		ZIP:			02109
		BUSINESS PHONE:		8002251581
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>NSAR-B
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>answer.fil
<TEXT>
<PAGE>      PAGE  1
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<PAGE>      PAGE  4
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SIGNATURE   MICHAEL T. HEALY
TITLE       MANAGING DIRECTOR


</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>hicbcert061.txt
<TEXT>
The registrants principal executive officer and principal
financial
officers have concluded, based on their evaluation of the
effectiveness of
the design and operation of the registrants disclosure controls
and
procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of
this report on
Form N-SAR, that the design and operation of such procedures are
effective
to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be
disclosed by
the investment company in the reports that it files or submits
under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed,
summarized, and
reported within the time periods specified in the Commissions
rules and
forms.

There have been no significant changes in the registrants
internal controls
or in other factors that could significantly affect these
controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation.



Certifications

I, Charles E. Porter, a principal financial officer of Putnam
High Income Bond Fund, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-SAR of Putnam High
Income Bond Fund;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial information included in
this report, and the financial statements on which the financial
information is based, fairly present in all material respects
the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net
assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of,
and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrants other certifying officers and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in rule 30a-2(c) under the Investment
Company Act) for the registrant and have:
a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure
that material information relating to the registrant, including
its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
within those entities, particularly during the period in which
this report is being prepared;
b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure
controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the
filing date of this report (the "Evaluation Date"); and
c) presented in this report our conclusions about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on
our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;
5. The registrants other certifying officers and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the
registrants auditors and the audit committee of the registrants
board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
functions):
a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
internal controls which could adversely affect the registrants
ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data
and have identified for the registrants auditors any material
weaknesses in internal controls; and
b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
or other employees who have a significant role in the
registrants internal controls; and



6. The registrants other certifying officers and I have
indicated in this report whether or not there were significant
changes in internal controls or in other factors that could
significantly affect internal controls subsequent to the date of
our most recent evaluation, including any corrective actions
with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.


Date: October 22, 2002
/s/Charles E. Porter
Charles E. Porter
Treasurer and Executive Vice President




Certifications

I, Steven D. Krichmar, principal financial officer of Putnam
High Income Bond Fund, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-SAR of Putnam High
Income Bond Fund;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial information included in
this report, and the financial statements on which the financial
information is based, fairly present in all material respects
the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net
assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of,
and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrants other certifying officers and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in rule 30a-2(c) under the Investment
Company Act) for the registrant and have:
a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure
that material information relating to the registrant, including
its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
within those entities, particularly during the period in which
this report is being prepared;
b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure
controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the
filing date of this report (the "Evaluation Date"); and
c) presented in this report our conclusions about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on
our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;
5. The registrants other certifying officers and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the
registrants auditors and the audit committee of the registrants
board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
functions):
a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
internal controls which could adversely affect the registrants
ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data
and have identified for the registrants auditors any material
weaknesses in internal controls; and
b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
or other employees who have a significant role in the
registrants internal controls; and



6. The registrants other certifying officers and I have
indicated in this report whether or not there were significant
changes in internal controls or in other factors that could
significantly affect internal controls subsequent to the date of
our most recent evaluation, including any corrective actions
with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.


Date: October 22, 2002
/s/Steven D. Krichmar
Steven D. Krichmar
Principal Financial Officer




Certifications

I, Karnig H. Durgarian, principal executive officer of Putnam
High Income Bond Fund, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-SAR of Putnam High
Income Bond Fund;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial information included in
this report, and the financial statements on which the financial
information is based, fairly present in all material respects
the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net
assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of,
and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrants other certifying officers and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls
and procedures (as defined in rule 30a-2(c) under the Investment
Company Act) for the registrant and have:
a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure
that material information relating to the registrant, including
its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
within those entities, particularly during the period in which
this report is being prepared;
b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure
controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the
filing date of this report (the "Evaluation Date"); and
c) presented in this report our conclusions about the
effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on
our evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;
5. The registrants other certifying officers and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the
registrants auditors and the audit committee of the registrants
board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
functions):
a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of
internal controls which could adversely affect the registrants
ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial data
and have identified for the registrants auditors any material
weaknesses in internal controls; and
b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management
or other employees who have a significant role in the
registrants internal controls; and



6. The registrants other certifying officers and I have
indicated in this report whether or not there were significant
changes in internal controls or in other factors that could
significantly affect internal controls subsequent to the date of
our most recent evaluation, including any corrective actions
with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.


Date: October 22, 2002
/s/Karnig H. Durgarian
Karnig H. Durgarian
Principal Executive Officer


</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>3
<FILENAME>hicbinvplcychg061.txt
<TEXT>
Changed investment policy- Putnam High Income Bond (formerly
Putnam High Income Convertible & Bond Fund

The Fund will invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80%
of its net assets in fixed income securities (including debt
instruments and convertible securities) rated below investment
grade (eg. below BBB/Baa) by at least one nationally recognized
agency (or nonrated securities Putnam believes are of equivalent
credit quality).


</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>4
<FILENAME>hicbltr061.txt
<TEXT>
October 8, 2002


To the Trustees and Shareholders of Putnam High Income Bond
Fund:

In planning and performing our audit of the financial
statements of Putnam High Income Bond Fund (formerly Putnam
High Income Convertible and Bond Fund) for the year ended
August 31, 2002, we considered its internal control, including
control activities for safeguarding securities, in order to
determine our auditing procedures for the purpose of expressing
our opinion on the financial statements and to comply with the
requirements of Form N-SAR, not to provide assurance on
internal control.

The management of Putnam High Income Bond Fund is responsible
for establishing and maintaining internal control.  In
fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and judgments by
management are required to assess the expected benefits and
related costs of controls.  Generally, controls that are
relevant to an audit pertain to the entitys objective of
preparing financial statements for external purposes that are
fairly presented in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America.  Those
controls include the safeguarding of assets against
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition.

Because of inherent limitations in internal control, errors or
fraud may occur and may not be detected.  Also, projection of
any evaluation of internal control to future periods is subject
to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions or that the effectiveness of the design
and operation may deteriorate.

Our consideration of internal control would not necessarily
disclose all matters in internal control that might be material
weaknesses under standards established by the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  A material weakness
is a condition in which the design or operation of one or more
of the internal control components does not reduce to a
relatively low level the risk that misstatements caused by
error or fraud in amounts that would be material in relation to
the financial statements being audited may occur and not be
detected within a timely period by employees in the normal
course of performing their assigned functions.  However, we
noted no matters involving internal control and its operation,
including controls for safeguarding securities, that we
consider to be material weaknesses as defined above as of
August 31, 2002.

This report is intended solely for the information and use of
management and the Board of Trustees and the Securities and
Exchange Commission and is not intended to be and should not be
used by anyone other than these specified parties.



</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>5
<FILENAME>hicbmrgr061.txt
<TEXT>
Results of August 15, 2002 shareholder meeting
 (Unaudited)

An annual meeting of shareholders of the fund was held on
August 15, 2002.  At the meeting, each of the nominees for
Trustees was elected, as follows:



Common Shares

Votes for
Votes
withheld
Jameson A. Baxter
8,834,612
476,886
Charles B. Curtis
8,834,299
477,199
John A. Hill
8,836,607
474,891
Ronald J. Jackson
8,839,812
471,686
Paul L. Joskow
8,839,512
471,986
Elizabeth T.
Kennan
8,835,873
475,625
Lawrence J. Lasser
8,837,512
473,986
John H. Mullin,
III
8,839,262
472,236
Robert E.
Patterson
8,838,133
473,365
George Putnam, III
8,838,786
472,712
A.J.C. Smith
8,839,573
471,925
W. Thomas Stephens
8,834,062
477,436
W. Nicholas
Thorndike
8,834,183
477,315


A proposal to amend the funds investment policies was
passed as follows:  5,540,752 votes for, 728,314 votes
against, with 3,042,432 abstentions and broker non-votes.

A proposal recommending the termination of the funds
investment Management agreement was defeated as follows:
1,523,082 votes for, 4,421,877 votes against, with
3,366,539 abstentions and broker non-votes.


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</DOCUMENT>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99
<SEQUENCE>6
<FILENAME>hicbnwacct061.txt
<TEXT>
Note 4
New accounting pronouncement

As required, the fund has adopted the provisions of the
AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide, Audits of Investment
Companies.  This Guide requires that the fund amortize
premium and accrete discount on all fixed-income
securities, and classify as interest income gains and
losses realized on paydowns on mortgage-backed securities.
Prior to September 2001, the fund did not amortize premiums
for certain fixed income securities.  Adopting these
accounting principles did not affect the funds net asset
value, but did change the classification of certain amounts
between interest income and realized and unrealized
gain/loss in the Statement of operations.  The adoption of
this principle was not material to the financial
statements.


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</DOCUMENT>
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