The government's borrowing requirement will be met by raising new long-term government loans. According to the Proposition to the Storting on authorisations to borrow for the 2014 fiscal year, the government has an adjusted gross financing requirement of approximately NOK 37 billion. Normally, the aim is to spread out long-term borrowing as evenly as possible, so that excessive year-to-year fluctuations in financing requirements do not fully affect the pace of borrowing. No long-term government bonds will be maturing in 2014, but a large redemption will take place in 2015. The government plans to cover some of the financing requirement in 2015 by raising new loans in 2014.

The government plans to borrow up to NOK 70 billion in long-term government securities in 2014.

The government's borrowing requirement has increased considerably in recent years. The outstanding volume of government bonds is now substantially larger than only a few years ago. Some of the government's bonds may have reached a level at which the liquidity of the bond will not improve even if the loan is increased. There may therefore be scope for adjusting the borrowing strategy that has been pursued in recent years.

Until now, the government has issued a new bond every other year with maturity of up to eleven years. In 2014, the government plans to introduce a new ten-year bond and to assess

the market conditions for an even longer-term bond.

Once the remaining term of the bond maturing in 2015 is under one year, the government will consider offering investors early redemption. Such early redemption may take the form of a swap for other government securities or direct purchases in the market.

The borrowing programme for Treasury bills is intended to cover periods when the government's cash reserves are lower than the desired level. The government intends to borrow up to NOK 70 billion in short-term government securities 2014.

If market conditions or other circumstances relating to the government's financing requirement change substantially in the course of 2014, the planned issue volumes of both government bonds and Treasury bills may be changed without prior notice or justification.

In the first quarter of 2014 the government plans to borrow between NOK 19 billion and NOK 23 billion in the government bond market, and a similar amount in the Treasury bill market. Corresponding information concerning the second quarter will be announced towards the end of the first quarter.

In 2014, the following schedule applies for auctions of government securities:

Treasury bills

Government bonds

Auctions of government bonds and Treasury bills may be cancelled or supplemented with ad hoc issues.

NORGES BANK