The Russian domestic government securities market is represented by federal loan bonds (OFZ). OFZs are placed at the auctions held by the Ministry of Finance or by private subscription. The schedule of the auctions with the information on the dates and planned volume of placement is published on the website of the Ministry on a quarterly basis.
The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation determines the main directions of the state debt policy of the Russian Federation. The self-titled document is published on the Ministry of Finance website.
The Ministry of Finance issues the following types of OFZ:
• OFZ-PD - federal loan bonds with a fixed yield. The coupon rate is determined prior to placement and fixed to maturity.
• OFZ-PK - federal loan bonds with a floating coupon. The coupon rate is linked to the RUONIA rate. Since 2019, the coupon yield is calculated basing on the average value of RUONIA rates for the current, and not expired, as for previous OFZ-PK issues, a coupon period with a small “technical” time lag of 7 calendar days.
• OFZ-IN – federal loan bonds with an indexed par value. To index the face value, the consumer price index of the Russian Federation is used, which is published monthly by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat).
• OFZ-AD – federal loan bonds with the amortization of debt. The face value on these bonds is redeemed in installments.
• OFZ-n – federal loan bonds for the population. Only individuals who are citizens of the Russian Federation can purchase OFZ-n directly through agent banks such as Sberbank, VTB, Promsvyazbank and Post Bank. OFZ-n are not traded at the stock exchange.
Previously, the Ministry of Finance issued the following types of securities (currently in circulation):
• GSO – government savings bonds. Interest rates for such bonds were set constant – GSO-PPP (for all coupon periods a single interest rate was determined) or fixed - GSO-FPS (for all coupon periods the interest rate was determined, but not the same). GSO were intended for residents, large institutional investors. The last placement took place in October 2012.
The description of other types of government bonds issued by the Ministry of Finance in the past is available in the Glossary section of the Cbonds website.
The maximum amount of external loans is determined in the Program of State External Borrowings of the Russian Federation in the Appendix to the Federal Budget of the Russian Federation for each financial year. The Russian Federation places Eurobonds denominated in dollars and euros on the Irish, London, Berlin and Luxembourg exchanges. The placement is carried out in the form of an open or closed subscription with the involvement of placement agents (organizers). Potential purchasers are individuals and legal entities, residents and non-residents of the Russian Federation.
