Public finance and credit ratings

At the end of 2009, Finland’s central government debt was EUR 64.3 billion. The debt as a percentage of gross domestic product was approximately 37 per cent at the turn of the year.

The majority of the debt is in government benchmark bonds, with a total stock of close to EUR 50 billion. The longest maturity for a benchmark bond is about fifteen years. As well as benchmark bonds, the government issues e.g. Treasury bills with maturities varying mainly from a month to one year. The government no longer has any borrowings constituting an exchange rate risk.

The government has credit ratings from three credit rating agencies: Fitch Ratings, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. All three have confirmed the optimal rating for Finnish government debt. For long-term debt, they are AAA, Aaa and AAA, respectively.

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The credit ratings for central government debt are as follows: