The purpose of the study is to assess, whether the Ministry of Finance has provided a sufficient reason, when the ministry issued 30-year government bonds in 2008, and whether the minister for finance, up to the time of the Public Accounts Committee’s request, has passed all relevant information to the Folketing about the issue of the 30-year government bonds in 2008 and the reasons behind it. Rigsrevisionen also estimates the total costs of the issue of the government bonds in 2008, from the time of issue to maturity in 2039.
The reasons stated by the Ministry of Finance for issuing 30-year government bonds worth DKK 27.6 billion out of a total of DKK 87.6 billion, in 2008, are very unsatisfactory. For the government, the immediate consequence of the issue was an unnecessary increase in interest expenses. Moreover, the minister for finance did not pass all relevant information about the issue to the Folketing.
Rigsrevisionen initiated the study in August 2021 at the request of the Danish Public Accounts Committee.
Read the introduction and conclusion (PDF)