Corporate bonds

To mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the Swedish economy, the Riksbank increased its purchases of securities from March 2020 until 31 December 2021 with a total envelope of SEK 700 billion, in addition to the purchases planned prior to the pandemic. The purchases of corporate bonds were initiated in the week beginning 14 September 2020. The purpose of the purchases was to keep general interest rates low and facilitate credit supply. The purchases in 2022 were aimed at compensating for securities that matured. As of 2023, no further purchases will be made.

The purchases covered corporate bonds issued in Swedish krona by Swedish non-financial corporations with a credit rating equivalent to Baa3/BBB– or higher, with a remaining time to maturity of up to 5 years. The bonds also had to be issued by companies that fulfilled international standards and norms for sustainability. The companies also had to report their direct greenhouse gas emissions (scope 1) and indirect greenhouse gas emissions (scope 2) in order for their bonds to be purchasable. The purchases were made on the secondary market from the Riksbank's monetary policy counterparties.

Sveriges Riksbank applied an issuer limit, which meant that the Riksbank were not to own more than 50 per cent of an individual issuer’s total outstanding volume of corporate bonds in Swedish krona or more than 50 per cent of an individual bond issue, at each time of purchase.

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

During the period when the purchases of corporate bonds took place, September 2020 through December 2022, the Riksbank published a monthly list of companies with outstanding bonds that met the Riksbank's criteria.

Holdings of corporate bonds

Below is a list of the Riksbank's total holdings of corporate bonds and information on the allocation of the holdings into sectors and average time to maturity. The holdings are the net sum of purchased corporate bonds, which is to say the total sum of bonds purchased, minus bonds that have fallen due at that point in time. The data is reported in nominal terms and based on the transaction date for the Riksbank's purchases of the bonds.

Holdings of corporate bonds

The chart shows the Riksbank’s total holdings of corporate bonds as a total amount in SEK billions. Download the data from the chart by clicking on the arrow to the right, above the chart. Source: Sveriges Riksbank.

Remaining time to maturity

The average remaining time to maturity (the time that remains before the corporate bond falls due) for the Riksbank's holdings of corporate bonds is 1.1 years as of the last weekday of the previous month.

Purchases of corporate bonds

Below is a list of the Riksbank’s total purchases of corporate bonds. From September 2020 to 31 December 2022, the Riksbank bought corporate bonds for a nominal amount of SEK 15,5 billion.

Purchases of corporate bonds

The diagram shows, at each respective point in time, the Riksbank's total purchases of corporate bonds since the measure was initiated in September 2020. The figures are stated in SEK billions. Source: Sveriges Riksbank.

The Riksbank’s total holdings of securities

The page Securities holdings in SEK shows the Riksbank’s total holdings of securities.