Asset Purchase Facility: Gilt Sales – Market Notice 16 December 2022

Market notice

This Market Notice sets out the schedule for sales in Q1 2023 of gilts held in the Asset Purchase Facility for monetary policy purposes. The Bank intends to sell a total of £3.25bn in each of the short, medium and long maturity sectors during Q1, spread across five auctions in each sector. Auctions will commence on 9 January for short maturity gilts, 12 January for medium maturity gilts and 30 January for long maturity gilts. 

1. The Bank set out in the consolidated APF gilt sales Market Notice published on 1 September 2022 that it would publish a quarterly schedule for the sales of gilts held in the Asset Purchase Facility (APF) for monetary policy purposes. The details and schedule for the Q1 2023 sales of such gilts are set out in this Market Notice which covers the period from 9 January 2023 to the week commencing 27 March 2023. 
2. APF gilt sales in Q4 2022 were conducted in short and medium maturity sectors only. From Q1 2023, the Bank will sell gilts evenly across short, medium and long maturity buckets unless otherwise advised in future quarterly schedules. These sectors are defined as gilts with a residual maturity of between: 3-7 years (short), 7-20 years (medium); and over 20 years (long). 
3. During Q1 2023, the Bank intends to hold five gilt sale auctions in each of these three sectors, with a planned size of £650mn per auction. The dates of the individual auctions are specified in the table below. Auctions will commence on 9 January for short maturity gilts, 12 January for medium maturity gilts and 30 January for long maturity gilts.
4. Other than as amended in this Market Notice, the detailed operational parameters and participation requirements set out previously will apply to these gilt sales.
5. The Bank will continue to monitor the impact of its gilt sales programme on market conditions, and reserves the right to amend its schedule, including the gilts to be sold and the size of its auctions, or any other aspect of its approach at its sole discretion.
6. The Bank expects to announce the sales schedule for Q2 2023 at 4.30pm on 24 March 2023.
7. The Bank’s approach to sales from its portfolio of gilts held in the APF for financial stability purposes has been communicated separately in a Market Notice on 23 November 2022, and is unaffected by this Market Notice. 

Table: APF gilt sales auction calendar – January to March 2023