Sweden: Commercial Paper Purchases

In March 2020, governments took measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic that significantly impacted corporate revenues. The uncertainty surrounding the pandemic drove investors out of corporate securities and into safe assets, complicating the ability of Swedish nonfinancial corporations to finance their operations. As the volume of commercial paper issuance dropped, the Sveriges Riksbank (Riksbank) announced on March 19, 2020, it would purchase commercial paper and corporate bonds as part of a much larger bond-buying scheme that included Swedish government, municipal, and covered bonds. It authorized the program under Chapter 6, Article 5 of the Sveriges Riksbank Act. The Riksbank said in March that it would limit its purchases of commercial paper to a nominal SEK 4 billion (about USD 0.5 billion), but it raised the limit to SEK 32 billion in May. The program purchased kronor-issued, investment-grade commercial paper on the secondary market with maturities of less than six months. Purchases peaked at SEK 2.3 billion the week of April 3, 2020. After four extensions to its original expiration date of May 31, 2020, the program expired on December 31, 2021