Further details about UK central government and other public sector foreign currency debt data

View the data

Overview

The UK government has no liabilities outstanding relating to money market instruments following the closure of the Euro Treasury bill programme in 1999. Bonds and notes comprise debt instruments of various maturities denominated in either US dollars or ECU/Euro.  Short-term loans consist of debt with a maturity of up to and including one year.  Medium and long-term loans are debt with a maturity of more than one year.  The remaining items relate to the liability due to the SDR allocation and other liabilities.

Availability

Data are available quarterly from 1999 Q3 and monthly from August 1999.  Publication of data will usually occur on the 21st working day of the month in UK International reserves (Table D4.1) with the most recent month available in the publication for the first month, after the end of the month.

Sources

The data are held by the Markets Division of the Bank of England.

Definitions

ECS and assigned debt consists of net borrowing – primarily by local government – under the 1969 and subsequent Exchange Cover Schemes.  This includes foreign currency borrowed through UK banks and from abroad, the issue of foreign currency securities, and any debt owed under the Scheme by privatised public corporations at the time of privatisation. The final repayment of ECS debt was made on 30 October 2007. The proportion of other public sector debt assigned to the UK government drawn from UK banks and non-residents (these assignments include equal and offsetting reductions in other public sector borrowing under the ECS).

Debt instruments recorded under bonds and notes are as follows:

• An issue of $2,000 million floating-rate notes in October 1996
• An issue of ECU 2,500 million ten year bonds in February 1991
• From January 1992, quarterly issues of 3 year ECU/Euro Treasury Notes
• An issue of $3,000 million of 10 year bonds in December 1992
• An issue of $2,000 million of 5 year bonds in October 1996
• An issue of $3,000 million 5 year bonds in June 2003

Short-term loans consist of debt with a maturity of up to and including one year.

Medium and long-term loans consist of debt with a maturity of more than one year.

The liability due to the SDR allocation reflects the UK government’s potential obligation to repurchase SDRs to the extent of its allocation (in the event of the winding-up of the IMF SDR Department, or in other circumstances).  The Bank’s treatment of this liability differs from that shown in the ONS publication, the Pink Book.  The SDR allocation is shown as a memorandum item in the Pink Book.

Other liabilities comprises liabilities on account of repo transactions, unsettled trades and the net present value of the currency leg of forwards and swaps done against sterling.

Negative values correspond to future outflows of foreign currency.

Valuation and Breaks

UK central government and other public sector debt are valued on the same basis as the UK international reserves.  The debt is marked-to-market at end-period market prices and exchange rates.