Purchases of municipal bonds during the coronavirus pandemic

The purpose of the purchases was to keep general interest rates low and facilitate credit supply. During 2022, the purchases were aimed at compensating for the maturing bonds in the Riksbank's portfolio. The Riksbank ended the purchases of municipal bonds in December 2022.

Initially, the Riksbank only bought municipal bonds with a fixed coupon, but from July 2020 the Riksbank also bought municipal bonds with a variable coupon. The municipal bonds were issued by Swedish municipalities and regions or by Kommuninvest i Sverige AB. The Riksbank's purchases of municipal bonds took place through auctions where the Riksbank's monetary policy counterparties were allowed to bid.

The Riksbank endeavoured to purchase municipal bonds with a wide range of issuers and maturities to ensure that purchases were carried out in an impartial manner and with a broad impact on interest rates. As there was greater interest in selling municipal bonds issued by Kommuninvest i Sverige AB, the Riksbank mainly bought these.

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

Purchases of municipal bonds

The Riksbank's total purchases of municipal bonds are presented below. Up to 31 December 2022, the Riksbank purchased municipal bonds for SEK 139 billion. 

The Riksbank’s total holdings of securities