The Treasury Bills (Amendment) Regulations 1999

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Treasury Bills Regulations 1877 to–

(a) enable Treasury bills to be issued ad hoc at a price determined by the Treasury on such basis as they think fit rather than at a fixed rate of discount determined by them (regulation 3);

(b) give the Treasury greater flexibility in relation to how and when they give notice inviting tenders for Treasury bills and the methods by which such tenders may be made (regulation 4);

(c) enable Treasury bills (which have been restricted to sterling, ECU and euro) to be denominated in any currency (regulations 5 and 10 and Schedule 1);

(d) remove the requirement for a warrant authorising the preparation and issue of Treasury bills, and reflect the Treasury’s new ability to issue Treasury bills either directly or through such agent as they think fit rather than necessarily through the Bank of England (see the amendment of section 8 of the Treasury Bills Act 1998 made by section 159 of the Finance Act 1998, which will be brought into force contemporaneously with these Regulations) (regulation 6(a) and (b));

(e) make provision to take account of the creation of the Debt Management Account and the Treasury’s ability to issue Treasury bills as a means of borrowing money for that Account, and to acquire Treasury bills on issue for that account (see Schedule 5A to the National Loans Act 1968 which is inserted by paragraph 1(3) of Schedule 26 to the Finance Act 1998, which is to be brought into force contemporaneously with these Regulations); in particular, new forms of bill are prescribed to distinguish bills issued to raise money for (and the repayment of which is charged on) that Account from bills issued to raise money for (and the repayment of which is charged on) the National Loans Fund in the traditional manner; the requirement of physical delivery on issue is removed where the Treasury acquire and hold Treasury bills on issue; and regulation 5 of the principal Regulations (which provides for certain payments into and out of the National Loans Fund) is disapplied to DMA Treasury bills (regulations 5, 6(c), 7, 9 and Schedule 1);

(f) extends to all Treasury bills the method of payment at maturity by credit or transfer to an account nominated by the payee which has hitherto applied only to Treasury bills denominated in ECU or euro; enables the Bank of England to attach terms and conditions (such as the giving of an indemnity) for preventing loss to the Bank or the Treasury where a banker’s draft is issued in lieu of payment to an account where payment of the latter kind had been initiated but, due to a systems failure or otherwise, the payment was not likely to be made on the due date; removes spent provisions relating to the payment of Treasury bills denominated in ECU and euro; and extends to all Treasury bills a provision, which has hitherto applied only to Treasury bills denominated in ECU or euro, deeming the date for payment of a Treasury bill to be the last day on which the Bank of England is open for business in the period of 12 months from the date of the bill where the date for payment mentioned in the bill would be more than 12 months from the date of the bill (regulations 5 and 8 and Schedule 1); and

(g) makes minor changes to the forms unconnected with the purposes mentioned above (Schedule 1).

None of these changes will apply in relation to bills issued before the commencement of the Regulations (regulation 1(2)).