Purchases of government bonds during the coronavirus pandemic

The Riksbank had been buying government bonds since 2012. Given the situation, the Riksbank needed to increase its purchases of government bonds to maintain the expansionary stance of monetary policy and support the economy. The majority of government bond purchases concerned nominal government bonds, including green bonds. Other purchases consisted of real bonds.

The purpose of the purchases was to keep general interest rates low and facilitate credit supply. The Riksbank's monetary policy counterparties and the Swedish National Debt Office's dealers could participate in the auctions. During 2022, the purchases were aimed at compensating for the maturing government bonds in the Riksbank's portfolio. The Riksbank ended the purchases of government bonds in December 2022.

More detailed information on the government bond purchases can be found in the document under “Related content” below.

Purchases of government bonds

Here, we present the Riksbank’s total purchases of government bonds from March 2020 until 31 December 2022. During the period, the Riksbank purchased government bonds for SEK 121 billion, in addition to the purchases  decided by the Executive Board before March 2020. 

The Riksbank’s total holdings of securities