Government debt

The government can borrow only with the agreement of Parliament. The strategic goal of government debt management is to minimize the expenses arising from the debt so as to hold the risks from debt management measures and the debt portfolio at an acceptable level and secure government liquidity under all circumstances.The goal of minimizing expenses is pursued in two ways by actively shaping the interest structure of the dept portfolio so as to allow a controlled reduction in interest expenses on the debt and by maintaining as high a level of liquidity as possible in the benchmark bond market in order to secure favourable terms for financing.

Division of labour in debt management

The Ministry of Finance is responsible for strategic oversight of the management of the on-budget debt portfolio, while the Treasury takes responsibility for practical debt management and implements the necessary financing operations. The Ministry of Finance draws up annual guidelines for the Treasury setting out the risk limits and instruments to be used in managing the on-budget debt.

International cooperation

Within the EU, issues relating to management of the government debt of Member States are coordinated in a working group of the Economic and Financial Committee. Cooperation covers the exchange of information and coordination relating to bond issues. Finland is represented on the working group by the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury.

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