Eurozone bailout fund to sell short-term debt before 2012
THE EUROZONE’S bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), will auction three, six or 12-month bills before the end of the year to increase its funding flexibility, the fund said in a statement.
“The launch of a short-term funding programme is in line with the enlarged scope of activity of EFSF to use its new instruments efficiently,” EFSF chief executive Klaus Regling said.
“The bill programme will not substitute the long-term bond programme, but it will add flexibility to it,” he added.
The fund, set up in May last year to help the Eurozone tackle the sovereign debt crisis, said it would not offer all three types of bills at the same auction.
The bill auctions will be open to all members of the EFSF Market Group, currently comprising 47 international institutions.
As with EFSF’s bond issuance, the auctions will be carried out by the German debt management office, Finanzagentur.
Funding guidelines for the €440bn EFSF, approved by finance ministers on 29 November, said the fund would need to have cash on hand of around €10bn to be able to react quickly to face the more urgent needs.