Specific Interest Swap Transactions (Hansard, 9 January 2002)

§ Mr. Flight
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on what date and on whose advice the decision was taken by the Export Credits Guarantee Department to purchase the interest swaps referred to in paragraphs (i) and (ii) of the introduction to the Export Credits Guarantee Department Winter Supplementary Estimates. [25213]

§ Nigel Griffiths
ECGD began to purchase the interest rate swaps referred to in paragraph (i) in 1986 and for (ii) in March 2001.
ECGD has an agreed risk management policy for managing and controlling interest rate risk. All of these swaps were transacted in accordance with this policy.
ECGD assesses its own hedging requirements and enters into or unwinds interest rate swaps through an auction process with banks with an investment grade of AA- or better.

§ Mr. Flight
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will provide a breakdown of the details of the specific interest swap transactions which were used to hedge the cost of interest make-up on fixed rate export finance loans, as referred to in paragraph (i) of the introduction to the Export Credits Guarantee Department Winter Supplementary Estimates. [25212]

§ Nigel Griffiths
Individual details of swap transactions are commercially confidential, but in summary we have 128 dollar interest rate swaps and 34 sterling swaps currently outstanding with a total notional value of US$4.6 billion and £804 million respectively.

§ Mr. Flight
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will provide a breakdown of the details of the specific interest swap transactions which were used to hedge potential interest make-up costs on pipeline large aircraft sector understanding cases, as referred to in paragraph (ii) of the introduction of the Export Credits Guarantee Department Winter Supplementary Estimates. [25211]

§ Nigel Griffiths
Individual details of swap transactions are commercially confidential, but in summary we have transacted 53 interest rate swaps with a total notional value of US$935 million of which US$325 million is currently outstanding.