Information on the international reserves – size as of 31 March 2021

Table 1 – International reserves

  Market Value Average return in reserve currencies, p.a.
EUR mil Share 5 years 3 years 1 year
Liquidity tranche 47 367 34.5 % n/a −0.14 % −0.28 %
Investment tranche 90 016 65.5 % n/a 4.14 % 6.89 %
Total 137 383 100.0 % 1.69 % 2.17 % 3.78 %

 

Table 2 – Division of the international reserves by investment instrument

Type of investment Share
Bonds 54.5 %
 – government 40.7 %
 – government agencies 7.8 %
 – supranational issuers 2.7 %
 – MBS and covered bonds 3.4 %
Money market instruments 31.0 %
Equities 14.5 %
Other 0.1 %

 

Table 3 – Currency allocation of the international reserves

Currency Share
EUR 57.9 %
USD 23.2 %
CAD 6.8 %
AUD 3.8 %
JPY 3.0 %
GBP 3.3 %
SEK 1.1 %
CNY 0.3 %
SDR 0.3 %
gold 0.2 %
other currencies 0.0 %

Explanatory notes:

  • The average return in reserve currencies p.a. is calculated as the weighted average of the returns on portfolios in the currencies of the respective portfolios; the weights are the ratios of the portfolios’ market value to the total;
  • Five years, three years and one year are moving periods, i.e., for example, a one-year period contains data for the last four quarters.
  • Bonds are broken down into four major categories:
    1. bonds issued by governments,
    2. bonds of government agencies, i.e. issuers with a close relationship with the central government, whose liabilities are usually explicitly guaranteed by the government,
    3. supranational issuers include, for example, the BIS, IBRD, EBRD, EIB, etc.,
    4. MBS bonds and covered bonds are mortgage-backed bonds (bonds guaranteed by selected US agencies – MBS or covered bonds typically issued in Europe).
  • Other is the sum of the market value of gold and derivative positions, for example, positions in futures contracts, interest rate and FX swaps, etc.