The securities facility enables a public body, the Public Debt Fund (Caisse de la dette publique - CDP) to lend Primary Dealers French government securities that are difficult to obtain on the market in exchange for other French securities of equivalent value. These loans are temporary and yield interest. The French government provides securities to the Fund. Under terms of the Budget Act, the government may issue securities directly to the Fund.
Primary Dealers apply to Agence France Trésor to use the securities facility.
All securities issued by AFT are covered by this facility: BTFs, OATs and inflation-indexed securities (OATi and OAT€i). The purpose of this facility is to improve the liquidity of these securities in special circumstances.