The main instrument of borrowing is the issue of Federal securities via an auction or tender process. Members of the Bund Issues Auction group initially take the offered Federal securities into their own portfolios and then gradually resell them to their customers.

The Federal government also uses the syndication process for the issuance of Federal securities, but comparatively less frequently. When issued via a syndicate, the respective Federal securities are brokered directly to investors on behalf of the Federal government by a selected group of banks for a fee.

This has the advantage of a lower sales risk compared to the auction process. Therefore, the Federal government uses this process especially when a new financing instrument or maturity segment is introduced for the Federal government. In addition, a larger volume can usually be sold through a syndicate than through an auction process.