Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (Sep 2019)

Confederation debt management since 1970

  • Basil Guggenheim,
  • Mario Meichle,
  • Thomas Nellen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s41937-019-0042-6
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 155, no. 1
pp. 1 – 23

Abstract

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Abstract This paper analyzes the Confederation’s debt management. The Confederation actively manages roll over and interest rate risk by increasing bond maturity with increasing marketable debt-to-GDP levels. It further engages in active but asymmetric, one-sided interest rate positioning; i.e., it uses mostly bonds to affect debt maturity and does so only when the interest rate environment is favorable to lock-in interest rates by issuing longer-term bonds. Debt management is mainly driven by marketable debt rather than total debt. Issuing behavior became more regular and demand-oriented during the early 1990s when marketable and total debt increased in tandem.

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