UK Sovereign

One of the co-heads of the London Group of Tradition, the interdealer broker that is one of the largest in the over-the-counter derivatives market, is leaving the firm.

Gilt market participants are expecting UK government borrowing to explode to close to £300bn this year. However, despite the huge supply, the Bank of England’s buying programme will prove even bigger and maintain price tension. To further ease the strain on cashflows, the Bank of England is expanding its Ways and Means Facility for the short-term.

The UK Debt Management Office (DMO) and local councils should sell social bonds to help tackle the Covid-19 crisis, said a director for responsible investment at a large asset manager.

The UK Debt Management Office announced plans this week to raise the biggest volume of Gilts in a single calendar month as it prepares for a significant increase to its financing programme from government’s measures to support the economy through the coronavirus outbreak.

The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing many of Europe's sovereigns to expand their borrowing programmes. This week's funding scorecard looks at the changes European sovereigns have made to respond to the crisis, and the progress they have made in their funding programmes as we approach the end of the first quarter.

The UK Debt Management Office will boost the size of its Gilt issuance programme for its upcoming financial year by up to an additional £45bn in response to the UK’s fiscal package to counter the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a head of UK rates strategy.

After an extraordinary Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday, the Bank of England voted to drop the base rate by an additional 15bp to bring it to a new low of 0.1%. Alongside this cut, the central bank has announced it will up its holdings of government and corporate debt by £200bn. Initial signs in the bond makrets were positive.

The promises of economic support for economies battered by coronavirus from the UK and US governments have caused their curves to cheapen sharply, driving up borrowing costs.

Eurozone government bond yields jumped higher early on Wednesday morning, unmoved by reports of a potential breakthrough for the issuance of common EU debt instruments. The European Central Bank is suspected to have stepped in to try and control the situation, with spreads to Bunds having moved to their widest points for a year or more.

During consultations with Gilt-edged Market Makers (GEMMs) and Gilt investors on Monday, there was a preference for the UK Debt Management Office to reopen its 1.875% 2054 Gilt in mid-May for the first syndication of its 2020/21 financial year.

The UK has pledged £30bn ($37.62bn) of stimulus to cushion the coronavirus pandemic’s economic impact, and now the Debt Management Office’s remit is expected to be £40bn higher than last year. But the Budget, delivered by UK chancellor Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, seemed to have little effect on Gilt yields, despite rising on the day.

What a time to be a new UK chancellor of the exchequer preparing to make your maiden Budget speech, as Rishi Sunak will do on Wednesday. He has motive and opportunity to borrow big and pay little for it. Brexit and the coronavirus outbreak mean a lot of spending will need to be funded to keep the UK economy running. But how the cash is deployed will shape the government's credibility in the eyes of Gilt investors.