-
Financing needs are anticipated lower than those announced in 2019. It is estimated that the gross issue will return to below 200,000 million euros and that the net issuance will be 32,500 million euros
The Treasury aims to launch the first issue of a green bond program to contribute to the financing of Spain's commitments to the ecological transition
- The confidence of the investors in the Spanish economy is maintained, which resulted in an improvement in the rating by Standard and Poor's last September, halving the risk premium and an increase of more than three points of the participation of international investors during 2019
- Last year financing costs recorded new historical lows and 55.4% of the debt issued by the Treasury was allocated at negative rates
The Public Treasury has presented its financing strategy for 2020, an exercise in which the gross issuance is estimated to be 196.504 million euros, 6.2% lower than that announced at the beginning of 2019. The expected net issuance will be 32,500 million euros, also 7.1% lower than the proposal last year.
The 2020 financing program starts from a conservative scenario, which could be reviewed throughout the year. The Government's commitment to fiscal consolidation and the progressive reduction of the deficit will continue to intensify the reduction in the ratio of public debt to GDP.
Closing year 2019
The favorable financing conditions have allowed the Public Treasury to have completed its 2019 financing program with a net issuance of 19,960 million euros, which represents a 41.8% reduction over the end of 2018, constituting the lowest net issuance since 2007. This significant decrease in net issuance has been possible thanks to the good evolution of financing costs, the progressive recovery of the financial autonomy of the Autonomous Communities and the more efficient management of the State treasury.
Gross issuance has fallen below 200,000 million euros for the first time since 2011, standing at 192,814 million euros, 9.5% less than in 2018.
Throughout the year, the confidence of investors in the Spanish economy has been maintained, which resulted in an improvement in the credit rating of the Kingdom of Spain by the Standard and Poor's agency, reducing the premium of half of risk and the increase in more than three percentage points of the participation of international investors and quality accounts.
Likewise, the financing costs of the Treasury, which have registered historical lows, have continued to be reduced. The average cost of new issues has been 0.23%, which means a decrease of 41 basis points over that of 2018. The average cost of outstanding debt has been reduced to 2.19%. This reduction has been possible because more than half of the debt issued by the Treasury, 55.4%, has been allocated to negative rates.
The lower financing needs have allowed savings in the payment of interest on the forecast at the beginning of the year of 2,371 million euros. The financial burden has been 24,357 million euros in terms of national accounting and has continued to reduce its weight as a percentage of GDP, which has fallen from 2.8% in 2014 to 2%.
These declines have occurred in an environment of increasing the average life of the outstanding State debt that has increased slightly to 7.55 years, compared to 7.45 at the end of 2018.
2020 Financing Strategy
As the main novelty in 2020, the Treasury has the objective of launching the first issuance of a green bond program, to contribute to the financing of Spain's commitments to the ecological transition. For this issue, the Treasury will follow the best practices in the market in the design of the Green Bond Framework and will rely on the experience of other sovereign issuers and on the work of harmonization at European level. Likewise, transparency in the allocation of funds and in the communication of the impact of investments will be guaranteed.
It is expected that all net financing will be obtained through the issuance of medium and long-term instruments. It will face 84.969 million maturities in the medium and long term. In this way the gross issuance in the medium and long term will amount to 117,469 million euros.
As regards the regular issuance of treasury securities, it is planned to hold 48 ordinary auctions of bills and bonds and obligations of the State. As a general rule, two auctions will be held per month of each modality. The expected issuance in these ordinary auctions will be within the published range, without having to reach the maximum announced.
In 2020, the Public Treasury will once again resort to bank unions for the issuance of certain State Obligations references. Likewise, it may issue State Debt through private placements, which will be executed to the extent that they contribute to the diversification of the investment base.
The Treasury plans to continue this year with its European Inflation Bonds and Obligations program. This is a program that allows diversifying the investor base of the Spanish debt and that favors the stabilization of the financial burden of the debt. In the five years of validity, the Bond and Obligations program linked to inflation has accumulated a total volume of 52,921 million euros, which represents 5.4% of the total outstanding State Debt and makes Spain a One of the leading issuers in this market, along with France, Italy and Germany.
