Inflation-linked Federal Securites

Inflation-linked Federal bonds and notes (ILB) are debt securities of the Federal Republic of Germany. They are available with original maturities of five to more than ten years. Because their redemption and annual interest payments are linked to a consumer price index, they offer protection against the loss of purchasing power of the money invested.

Easily explained

Understanding inflation-linked Federal securities
- basic knowledge for private investors

 

Due to the positive diversification effects and the interest cost savings realised over the past years, the Federal government has successively established a yield curve of real nominal Federal securities.

Compared to the nominal securities, the inflation-linked Federal securities are issued in smaller volumes at the time of the initial issuance and further reopenings. The reopenings are spread over several years until each security reaches the benchmark size of at least € 15 bn.

Interest payments on 15 April 2023

The following values were calculated for the inflation-linked Federal securities on the interest payment date 15 April 2023:

BondISINIndexed interest rateInterest Amount
0.10 % Bund/€i 2021 (2033)DE00010305830.115259 %9,739,385.50 €
0.10 % Bund/€i 2015 (2046)DE00010305750.122031 %16,657,231.50 €
0.10 % Bund/€i 2015 (2026)DE00010305670.121121 %23,255,232.00 €
0.50 % Bund/€i 2014 (2030)DE00010305590.607210 %134,497,015.00 €
0.10 % Bund/€i 2012 (2023)DE00010305420.124444 %20,533,260.00 €

The inflation-linked 0.10% Bund/€i 2012 (2023) matures as scheduled with the last interest payment on 15 April 2023.

Reference Index & Indexation Coefficients

The inflation indexation for both nominal value and coupon payments is based on the unrevised Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) of the euro area (total index excluding tobacco). This is calculated monthly by the Statistical Office of the European Union ("Eurostat") and published on its website.

The indexation coefficients are computed with a time delay by linear interpolation of the montly values of the reference index.

Current Benchmarks of Inflation-linked Federal Securitites

Inflation-linked Securities

SecurityMaturityCouponOutstandingLast IssuanceISIN
Bund/€i10 15.04.2033 0.10% 9.0 € bn 02.05.2023 DE0001030583
Bund/€i30 15.04.2046 0.10% 13.7 € bn 04.04.2023 DE0001030575

Issuance

Issuances in the segment of inflation-linked Federal securities are generally an established part of the Federal government's strategic issuance planning. The exact auction days are already published with the issue planning for the entire year. Ten auctions of inflation-linked Federal securities are held each year - generally on the first or second Tuesday of each month, with the exception of August and December.

In some cases, the issuances are conducted as multi-ISIN auctions, in which bids can be submitted for two securities at the same time. The security intended for reopening on the issuance day, or the securities intended for reopening in the case of a multi-ISIN auction, will be named on the Thursday before the tender date in the announcement of the tender procedure by press release of the Deutsche Bundesbank.

The annual issue volume in this segment in 2022 was € 6.25 bn, corresponding to around 1 % of the annual issuance volume of all Federal securities. An issuance volume of € 6 to 8 bn is again planned for 2023.

Auction dates according to the annual issuance plan 2023

Tue., 10 January 2023
Tue., 7 February 2023
Tue., 7 March 2023
Tue., 4 April 2023
Tue., 2 May 2023
Tue., 6 June 2023
Tue., 4 July 2023
Tue., 5 September 2023
Tue., 10 October 2023
Tue., 7 November 2023

The auctions may be conducted as multi-ISIN auctions. The ISINs issued in each case will be disclosed by auction announcement and in the following overview in the week before the auction.

Upcoming Auctions

Upcoming AuctionsN: New Issue    R: Reopening

TenderIssuanceVolumeCouponMaturity
06.06.2023 Bund/€i (R)
DE0001030583
0.4 € bn 0.10% 15.04.2033
06.06.2023 Bund/€i (R)
DE0001030575
0.2 € bn 0.10% 15.04.2046

For inflation-linked Federal securities, only the issuance dates are published in the annual issuance calendar. The ISIN issued in each case is announced only a few bank working days before the issuance dates.

Latest Issuances

Latest IssuancesN: New Issue     R: Reopening     A: Allotment     B: Bids

TenderIssuanceBid/CoverVolumesYield
02.05.2023 Bund/€i (R)
DE0001030583
1.3
(A)
(B)
-0.04%
04.04.2023 Bund/€i (R)
DE0001030583
1.3
(A)
(B)
-0.11%
04.04.2023 Bund/€i (R)
DE0001030575
2.1
(A)
(B)
-0.18%

Bid/Cover Ratio:  Ratio of offered and allocated volume

Trading

At € 151 bn, the trading volume of inflation-linked Federal securities was lower in 2022 than in the previous year (€ 163 bn). Similarly, their share of the total trading volume of all Federal securities fell from 3 % in 2021 to 2 %.

With the total volume of inflation-linked securities currently outstanding, there is a comfortable market depth which offers the issuer sufficient flexibility to support secondary market activities.

Yield Curve of Inflation-linked Federal Securities

Real Yields

Break-even Inflation Rates

Simple yield differences of the individual inflation-linked Federal securities to the respective conventional Federal security with the closest residual maturity

Outstanding

The liquidity of inflation-linked Federal securities has increased continuously since they were first issued. The total volume outstanding has always been above € 50 bn since 2013. Currently there are five inflation-linked Federal securities outstanding: four bonds with original maturities of around 10 years as well as a 30-year bond. In total, they reached a volume of around € 77 bn or 5 % of the volume of all outstanding Federal securities at year-end 2022.

Current Share of inflation-linked Federal Securities in the Volume of all Outstanding Federal Securities

The share of 10-year Federal bonds (Bund 10) includes the 7- and 15-year Federal bonds.

Current Outstanding of Inflation-linked Federal Securities

Bond Maturity Coupon Outstanding Last Issuance ISIN
Total volume 63,950 € mn -
2021 (2033) Bund/€i 15.04.2033 0.10% 8,950 € mn 02.05.2023 DE0001030583
2015 (2046) Bund/€i 15.04.2046 0.10% 13,650 € mn 04.04.2023 DE0001030575
2015 (2026) Bund/€i 15.04.2026 0.10% 19,200 € mn 07.02.2023 DE0001030567
2014 (2030) Bund/€i 15.04.2030 0.50% 22,150 € mn 05.04.2022 DE0001030559

Understanding inflation-linked Federal Securities