The European Commission launched its EU Repurchase Agreement (Repo) facility Monday, a form of short-term issuance of EU securities available on-demand to EU primary dealers.
The launch will further strengthen the role of EU bonds, says the Commission, which uses the proceeds of EU-Bond issuances to fund EU policy programmes. It will make the EU executive become a sovereign-style issuer on EU capital market and improve the overall efficiency and fluidity of the EU bonds market.
The Commission uses the proceeds of EU-Bond issuances to fund EU policy programmes.
Through the facility, the EU offers its primary dealers the possibility to source specific EU bonds on a temporary basis, supporting their capacity to post firm public quotes. The facility allows investors to be more confident in the terms on which they can trade EU bonds in the secondary market.
The first EU repo transactions were executed today on the Eurex Repo web-based trading system and leared via Eurex Clearing.
Repo facilities are commonly used by sovereign issuers to support the market activity of their primary dealers. The EU Repo facility operates in line with standard practices of peer sovereign issuers. The launch of the Repo facility marks the implementation of the final measure announced by the Commission in December 2022 to support the EU bonds market.
To mark the launch of the Facility, Commissioner for Budget and Administration, Johannes Hahn, together with the President of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, led a ‘Ring the Bell Ceremony’ on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, in Germany.
