Debt Office comments on bonds with maturities of up to 100 years

News 27 August 2019

In light of the currently low interest rates, also on very long-term loans, the Swedish National Debt Office is evaluating whether there are grounds and conditions for issuing bonds with longer maturities, such as 100 years.

Some other countries including Austria and Italy have issued “ultra-long” bonds, and the US has stated that it is assessing investor interest in an issuance of this kind. The Debt Office has received questions about whether Sweden should also issue bonds with a maturity of, for example, 100 years.

We are always exploring current matters within our mandate. The prospect of locking in what appear to be exceptionally low interest rates for the long term is interesting and worth looking into. However, the Debt Office in its role of managing central government debt must first analyse the matter from several aspects, including how a bond with a historically long maturity would affect our continual funding and borrowing preparedness. There also needs to be demand in the market,” says Debt Office Director General Hans Lindblad.

The Debt Office will revert to the matter in conjunction with the publication of its next forecast for the central government budget balance and borrowing, which will be available on the Debt Office’s website on 23 October 2019 at 9:30 am CET.

Contact

Debt Office Press Secretary: +46 (0)8 613 47 01

The Swedish National Debt Office is the central government’s financial manager. One of our primary responsibilities is to borrow money on behalf of the Swedish Government and manage the central government debt. The aim is to minimise the cost of government debt in the long term while taking risk into account. The Debt Office borrows mainly by issuing different types of bonds in the capital market. The longest outstanding bond has a remaining maturity of 20 years.