Overview of Central Government Risks and Liabilities : Autumn 2020
Hytönen, Jukka; Lehtiö, Sakari; Napari, Sami; Puumalainen, Markku; Railavo, Jukka (2021-03-02)
Hytönen, Jukka
Lehtiö, Sakari
Napari, Sami
Puumalainen, Markku
Railavo, Jukka
Ministry of Finance
02.03.2021
Julkaisusarja:
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Central government liabilities have been increasing for many years. In 2008, just before the start of the financial crisis, central government debt totalled EUR 54 billion. At the end of 2019, it exceeded EUR 106 billion. Guarantee liabilities grew by about EUR 37 billion over the same period, reaching EUR 60.2 billion in 2019.
The favourable trend in the economy of recent years came to an abrupt halt in spring 2020, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The economy began to shrink, employment declined and unemployment grew. At the same time, the Government sought to reduce the detrimental economic impact of the crisis through various support measures. This increased central government liabilities, pushing them considerably beyond the level at which they were already rising.
When assessing the risk position of central government, implicit liabilities are also important. These are not legally binding on central government, but for public policy reasons central government is expected to carry the liability for them. One key implicit liability concerns local government. In local government, too, liabilities have grown considerably in recent years. In 2019 alone, local government loans grew by EUR 1.7 billion, increasing the total loan stock to more than EUR 18 billion by the end of 2019.
In recent years, curbing the growth in central government liabilities has proved to be challenging, despite the relatively favourable state of the economy. Keeping the growth in liabilities in check in the post-pandemic years will be yet more challenging. Nevertheless, to prepare for future crises it is essential to improve the risk- bearing capacity of central government.
The favourable trend in the economy of recent years came to an abrupt halt in spring 2020, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. The economy began to shrink, employment declined and unemployment grew. At the same time, the Government sought to reduce the detrimental economic impact of the crisis through various support measures. This increased central government liabilities, pushing them considerably beyond the level at which they were already rising.
When assessing the risk position of central government, implicit liabilities are also important. These are not legally binding on central government, but for public policy reasons central government is expected to carry the liability for them. One key implicit liability concerns local government. In local government, too, liabilities have grown considerably in recent years. In 2019 alone, local government loans grew by EUR 1.7 billion, increasing the total loan stock to more than EUR 18 billion by the end of 2019.
In recent years, curbing the growth in central government liabilities has proved to be challenging, despite the relatively favourable state of the economy. Keeping the growth in liabilities in check in the post-pandemic years will be yet more challenging. Nevertheless, to prepare for future crises it is essential to improve the risk- bearing capacity of central government.