Debt Office proposes largely unchanged guidelines for debt management

Press release 17 September 2021

The Swedish National Debt Office proposes no significant revisions to the guidelines for managing the central government debt. The proposed guidelines for 2022 are being submitted to the Ministry of Finance today.

The Debt Office does not see a need for any major changes to the guidelines since the revisions made in recent years have led to a more comprehensive steering of the debt management. This means that the Debt Office has the flexibility to manage large variations in the borrowing requirement within the parameters of the guidelines.

The Government adopts new guidelines each year no later than 15 November. This decision is taken after the Debt Office has submitted proposed guidelines on which the Riksbank has been given the opportunity to deliver an opinion. The guidelines set out, among other things, the composition and term to maturity of the debt.

Targets for composition and maturity remain unchanged

Composition

• Inflation-linked krona debt – the share of total debt is to be 20 per cent over the long term.
• Foreign currency debt – the exposure is to be unchanged.
• Nominal krona debt – is to make up the remainder in addition to inflation-linked krona debt and foreign currency debt.

Maturity

The term to maturity of the central government debt is to be between 3.5 and 6 years (measured as duration).

Review of the foreign currency exposure continues

The Debt Office proposes that the foreign currency exposure of the debt still remain unchanged, as the review of the foreign currency debt that the Debt Office began in 2020 is not yet completed. The Debt Office intends to present a finished analysis of the foreign currency exposure of the central government debt in conjunction with the proposed guidelines for 2023.

Point on retail-market borrowing to be removed

The only change that the Debt Office is proposing in the guidelines is for the removal of the point on the evaluation of retail-market borrowing, which will cease once the last lottery bond matures in December 2021.

What guides central government debt management

The Swedish Budget Act establishes the permitted purposes of central government borrowing and the debt management objective of minimising the cost over the long term while taking account of the risk. The overall trade-off between cost and risk is contained in the guidelines for debt management as adopted by the Government. The Debt Office is responsible for managing central government borrowing and debt in accordance with the guidelines.

Read the full report: Central Government Debt Management – Proposed Guidelines 2022–2025