Issuer and security eligibility for corporate bond sales
We have published a list of the individual sterling corporate bonds held in the Asset Purchase Facility, as at 5 May 2022. We are open to expressions of interest for debt buy-backs of any bond listed, while those that will be available for sale via auctions are marked separately:
We have also published a breakdown of the maturity profile of the stock of corporate bonds held in the Asset Purchase Facility. See the results and usage page.
Expressions of interest – eligible bonds buyback requests
The Bank is currently open to receiving expressions of interest from issuers who may want to buy back their own bonds – as per the list of bonds held in the Corporate Bond Purchase Scheme above.
Issuers interested in undertaking debt buybacks of their own issuance, at this time and throughout the sales programme, should fill in and submit to us an indication of the bonds using the following form:
You should send your expression of interest, either directly or via a dealer, to: APF_CorporateBond_DealersInfo@bankofengland.co.uk.
Approach to market engagement on APF gilts
The MPC has asked Bank of England staff to work on a strategy for UK government bond sales, and will provide an update at its August 2022 meeting. This will allow the Committee to make a decision at a subsequent meeting on whether to commence sales.
As noted in the Governor's letter to the Chancellor in February 2022, were gilt sales judged to be appropriate in the future, these would be conducted in a predictable manner over a period of time so as not to disrupt the functioning of financial markets. The Bank will liaise with the UK Debt Management Office (DMO) in order to minimise interference with the DMO's own issuance programme, and consider the views of market participants as to how best to minimise disruption in asset markets.
The Bank will therefore be seeking views on the operational considerations relating to any future gilt sales through a range of avenues over the coming months. We are in regular dialogue with the DMO on operational matters, as we have been throughout the life of the Asset Purchase Facility. We also regularly engage with a wide range of market participants across different market sectors through our market intelligence function and will continue to gather views through those conversations. It is important that we are able to take into account feedback from the widest range of stakeholders in this process, including where we may not have existing relationships, so we are additionally inviting input via email to APFOpsFeedback@bankofengland.co.uk. Information received will be treated in line with the Bank's published Market Intelligence Charter.
Requirements for eligible counterparties
Counterparties in the Corporate Bond Purchase Scheme sales programme must submit to us quotes on eligible securities that are sent in the normal course of their business (dealer runs) as well as indications of bonds which they would like to buy or take a position in (dealer axes). Further details are provided in the APF Operating Procedures. We have a template for providing this information:
You should send your submission to APF_CorporateBond_DealersInfo@bankofengland.co.uk, preferably by close of business on a daily basis, but at least by close of business on the first working day of the week.
Cash transfers between the APF and Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT)
The APF is operated via a subsidiary of the Bank of England known as the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund (BEAPFF) that is indemnified by HMT. BEAPFF receives interest on the gilts and corporate bonds it holds, which were purchased using a loan from the Bank. Interest income is used to pay administrative costs, and interest on the loan. The net balance is transferred between BEAPFF and HMT every quarter. More detail about this process can be found in the following document:
Lending of gilts bought in APF Gilt Purchase Operations
We have agreed that we will make a small proportion of the gilts purchased available to the UK Debt Management Office (DMO) for on-lending to the market through the DMO’s normal repo market activity. We issued a joint statement on this in 2009.
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