REPORT TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 

FROM THE 

TREASURY BORROWING ADVISORY COMMIITEE 

OF THE 

PUBLIC SECURITIES ASSOCIATION 

May 1,1996 

Dear Mr. Secretary: 

Since the Committee's last meeting on January 31, 1996, economic growth has revived 

following a sluggish period marked by inventory adjustments, weather-related disruptions, and a partia! 

Federal government shutdown Stronger-than-expected growth in nonfarm payrolls and consumer 

spending has fbeled the increased pace of business activity Inflationary pressures have generally 

remained dormant, but signt6cant increases have recently occurred in prices of grains and energyrelated products due to lean inventories and increased world-wide demand 

Early in the year, interest rate levels anticipated a sluggish economy, restrained price pressures 

and agreement on a compromise 7-year budget-balancing plan In turn,these events were expected to 

lead to Mher easings by the Federal Reserve Subsequently, the economy's revival, the collapse of 

budget talks, and increased come inflation have led to sigmficantly changed expectations 

Forward eurodollar rates have risen by over 100basis points, and intennediate and long-term Treasury 

yields have risen by 75-100 basis points since January Market participants now seem to perceive the 

risks of unacceptably sluggish or rapid economic growth as evenly balanced However, in light of full 

employment wnditiom and stepped-up hiring, fears of eventual modest upward pressure on wages 

appear to have increased. 

Agamt this background, the Committee was charged with offering advice on the profile of 

Treasury marketable financing for the period through the July-September quarter. In fiaminy its 

recommendations, the Committee took into consideration the Treasury's decision to increase the 

frequency of o&amgs of 10-year notes and 30-year bonds. Speclfiwlly, the Treasury has indicated its 

plans to introduce two new 10-year note offerings -in mid-July and mid-October -thus raising to 

six the number of such offenings per year; and to introduce one new 30-year bond offering -in midNovember - thus raising to three the rnunber of such offerings per year. The Committee Mher 

understands that the Treasury plans to reduce the size of each such offering somewhat fiom current 

levels, such that overall issuance in these maturity sectors in future years does not change sigdicantly 

fiom levels that otherwise would have occurred 

Wtthin this context, to refUnd the $35.0 billion of privately-held notes maturing on May 15, 

1996 and to raise $14.0 biion of cash, the Committee unanimously recommends that the Treasury 

auction $49 0billion of the following Securities. 
$19.0 billion 3-year notes due May 15, 1999; 

$14.0 b'ion 10-year notes due May 1 5,2006; 

$16.0 billion cash management bills due June 20, 1996. 

The Committee believes that $14 0 billion is the appropriate issue size for the 10-year note in 

the current midquarter reWig. This amount is consistent with market expectations and should not 

be affected by the increased frequency of 10-year offerings scheduled to begin in July 

With the aim of achieving a cash balance of $35 billion on June 30, the Committee unanimously 

recommends that for the remainder of the quarter, the Treasury meet its borrowing requirement in the 

following mannerer 

One 5-year note totaling $1 2.5 billion, to raise $3.3 billion of new cash; 

One 2-year note totaling $18.75 billion, to raise $0.6 billion of new cash; 

Two 1 -year bills totaling $19.25 billion each, to raise $0.6 billion of new cash; 

Weekly issuance of 3- and 6-month bills through the remainder of the quarter, to raise 

$9.5 biion of new cash; 

The issuance of intraquarter cash management bills to cover the low cash point in 

June; and 

The paydown on June 20 of $16.0 billion of cash management bills issued in 

conjunction with the May refunding. 

Including the $14.0 billion raised in the midquarter refunding as well as anticipated foreign 

add-ons of $3.0 billion, the proposed financing schedule will raise a total of $1 5.0 billion. This amount, 

after subtracting the net paydown of $35.0 billion to date in the quarter, will accomplish the total net 

paydown of $20.0 billion. 

For the July-September quarter, the Treasury estimates a net borrowing requirement in the 

range of $55-60 billion with a cash balance of $40.0 billion at the end of September. To accomplish 

the anticipated net borrowing requirement, the Committee took into consideration the planned 

increased but irregular cycle of 10-year note and 30-year bond offerings. The Committee reviewed the 

question of desired minimum issue sizes; that is, sizes which would facilitate liquid secondary markets 

and limit the risks of occasional acute and protracted shortages. For the 10-year notes, the Committee 

believes that the two sets of issues to be offered one month apart -- that is, the July-August and 
October-November offerings - could be set initially at a minimum size of $10 bdlion, reflecting the 

increased potential for more frequent re-openings For the other two annual issues- that is, the 

February and May offerings -- the Committee believes that it would be preferable to target an initial 

minimum size of $12 billion. For each of the planned three annual offerings of 30-year bonds, the 

Committee believes that initial minimum sizes should not be smaller than $10 bion 

Overall, this initial annual pattern of 10- and 30-year securities would increase only modestly 

the amount of issuance relative to that which would occur in future years with normal increases in 

coupon issue sizes In the Committee's view, this would represent a reasonable initial balance between 

planned levels of issuance and considerations of market liquidity Also, while the planned variations in 

the sizes of the 10-year note offerings could introduce some additional market uncertainty, that risk 

would be limited by transparency around the Treasury's announcement of its plans and intentions in 

introducing the new issue cycle Longer term, the Committee remains supportive of the goal of more 

fiequent and regular issuance of longer-term debt to temper somewhat the pace of the decline in the 

average length of the debt and the proportion maturing within two years 

The Committee supports the timing of the two additional 10-year note offerings -- that is, July 

15 and October 15 Initially, these new issues can rebd maturing 7-year notes. Also, the Treasury's 

borrowing need is typically larger in the July-December period. Itl addition, this financing pattern will 

modestly divert a portion of coupon payments away 6om the large midquarterly coupon payment 

dates. 

In a sii vein, an additional bond offering on November 15 is well placed to meet Treasury 

cash needs. There is also a market related bend of regularly increasing the strippable product with 

May 15 and November 1 5 maturities. 

In light of the planned issuance of a new 10-year note in July, and the expected reduced size of 

the 10- and 30-year oEaings in the August refirndmg, the Committee considered the question of the 

need for continual modest increases in size of other coupon offerin,gs. By an 1 1-4 vote, the Committee 

preferred no further increases in the July-September quarter in the 1-year bills as well as 2-, 3- and 5-

year note sii. The majority felt that, given the additional finamq in the 10-year sector during the 

quarter as well as continued reductions in the federal budget deficit, the Treasury could pause for a 

short time before resuming the gradual size increases in regular cycle offerings. The specific 

recommended profile of Treasury offeringsfor the July-September is set forth in the enclosed schedule 

The minority preked continued incremental increases in issue amounts. This group felt that 

fiuther increases would still be needed to OMin an orderly fsshion the impact of the maturing 5-year 

note cycle. In this regard, they note that the more 6equent but reduced size offerings in the long end 

will raise less net cash in the July-September quarter than the amount which would be raised by normal 

modest increases in regular cycle offerings. 

In response to a request for its views, the Committee considered the sigdicant variation of the 

sizes of weekly bills and the heavy reliance on cash management bills in recent months. The Treasury 

followed this course largely to manage cash and debt during the debt limit impasse. The Committee 
did not perceive any signrficant market impact as a result of this financing behavior As the issue sizes 

varied, there were occasional small yield differences between the affected Treasury bills But overall, 

the market adapted well to the uncertainty and unpredictability of Treasury bill financing during this 

period. Market participants recowed the constraints imposed on the Treasury as a result of the debt 

limit considerations and, as such, believed that the related uncertain financing behavior was temporary 

The Committee continues to believe that consistent and predictable financing operations are 

most effective in reducing the Treasury's cost of borrowing. Accordingly, in the Committee's 

judgment, weekly bill offering sizes should remain relatively stable and cash management bis should be 

relied upon to more efficiently meet temporary or seasonal cash needs. 

Respectfidy submitted 

Richard M. Kelly 

Chairman