OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook 2013
Each year, the OECD circulates a survey on the borrowing needs of member countries. The responses are incorporated in the OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook to provide regular updates of trends and developments associated with sovereign borrowing requirements and debt levels from the perspective of public debt managers. The Outlook makes a policy distinction between funding strategy and borrowing requirements. The central government marketable gross borrowing needs, or requirements, are calculated on the basis of budget deficits and redemptions. The funding strategy entails decisions on how borrowing needs are going to be financed using different instruments (e.g. long-term, short-term, nominal, indexed, etc.) and distribution channels.
Accordingly, the OECD Sovereign Borrowing Outlook provides data and information on borrowing needs and funding policies for the OECD area and country groupings, including gross borrowing requirements, net borrowing requirements, central government marketable debt, funding strategies and instruments and distribution channels.
Debt management in the macro spotlight
Serious fiscal vulnerabilities, perceptions of higher sovereign risk and considerable uncertainty about future interest rates have created the conditions for fiscal dominance with new and complex interactions between public debt management (PDM) and monetary policy. This is putting public debt management and the functioning of sovereign debt markets in a macro spotlight.Although PDM alone cannot solve macroeconomic imbalances or address structural financial sector problems, PDM is a key component of a balanced structural policy mix supporting both the proper functioning of government securities markets and, more broadly, the objectives of the macroeconomic framework. The challenges of using unconventional monetary policy instruments for debt management are highlighted. With a further increase of central bank holdings of government securities, a smooth exit from accommodative asset purchase programmes at the appropriate time might become more challenging. The chapter also discusses debt management considerations during periods of fiscal consolidation and fiscal dominance.