27 July 2021: Agence France Trésor publishes its 2020 Annual Report

The Annual Report presents AFT’s duties, organisation and staff and describes a year of unprecedented action in the face of many challenges. AFT was able to meet these challenges, thanks to the work and dedication of its women and men, despite the complex operating conditions imposed by the lockdown rules. The year saw:

  • The completion of an historic €260 billion financing programme that protects the best interests of the French taxpayer;
  • Record low cost of borrowing for medium- and long-term debt securities, with a negative yield of -0.13 over the year for the first time in history;
  • Syndicated launch of 3 new benchmark bonds: (i) The OAT 0.75% 25 May 2052, with issuance of €5 billion and a yield at issue of 0.727%, the lowest ever seen for this type of bond, (ii) the OAT 0.50% 25 May 2040, with issuance of €7 billion and a record low yield at issue for the syndicated launch of a 20-year OAT of 0.525% and (iii) the OATi 0.10% 1 March 2036 with issuance of €3 billion and a new low yield at issue of -0.630% for the syndicated launch of an index-linked OAT.
  • Support and assistance for the borrowing of other public-sector entities, such as the Central Agency for Social Security Bodies (Acoss) and the Social Security Debt Repayment Fund (CADES), including the transaction by which CADES assumed €136 billion of the debt of Acoss in August 2020 and the launch of a social bond issuance programme.

To download the report, please click on the picture (French only, English version available soon)

An informative, multilingual report for the general public and experts



The Annual Report features contributions from bond market experts on the impact of the pandemic. It also includes materials, such as fact sheets and a glossary of economic and financial terms to provide the general public with a better grasp of the data relating to management of State’s debt and cash requirements.

The financial and statistical reports are comprehensive technical documents for public finance experts and market professionals that contain all of the data relating to AFT’s activities.

Translations of the Annual Report in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic and Russian will soon be available to meet investors’ needs.

Missions



AFT is an autonomous and accountable agency with national scope that reports to the Minister for the Economy and Finance, and to the Director General of the Treasury.

AFT is responsible for managing the State’s cash requirements so that it can meet its financial commitments at all times, whatever the circumstances.

AFT is also tasked with managing the State’s debt and, more specifically, with minimising the medium-term cost of borrowing in the taxpayers’ best interest. For this purpose, it maintains relations with investors, financial intermediaries and other issuers on the fixed-income markets that are totally transparent, along with a commitment to combining innovation, flexibility and security.

AFT is also responsible for conducting financing transactions on behalf of the Social Security Debt Repayment Fund (CADES).



Key figures in 2020

  • State borrowing requirement in 2020: €309.5 billion
  • Short-term issuance in 2020: €353.0 billion in 3-month, 6-month and 12-month securities with a weighted average yield of -0.56%
  • Medium-term and long-term issuance in 2020: €289.5 billion with a weighted average yield of -0.13%
  • Outstanding interest rate swaps at 31 December 2020: €1 billion
  • Negotiable debt securities outstanding at 31 December 2020: €2,001 billion (non-residents hold 50.1% of this debt)
  • Average residual maturity of debt at 31 December 2020: 8 years and 78 days
  • Long-term issuance on behalf of CADES: €23 billion, of which €19 billion as social bond

Complete State debt data and AFT news can be found at www.aft.gouv.fr

Information:

+33.1.40.04.15.50