Maturing coupon debt will be relatively stable this year and next. While issuance of coupon debt has decreased significantly, the outstanding coupon debt has decreased much less dramatically, due to the length of time it takes for previously issued coupon debt to mature. To date, the outstanding stock of coupon debt has decreased by 14 percent from its peak. In contrast, however, outstanding debt with a remaining maturity of five years or more has actually increased by eleven percent. Debt Buybacks Paying down debt primarily by redeeming maturing debt is inherently asymmetrical, with the paydown occurring at the short end of the maturity spectrum.
Buybacks have the potential to bring more balance to the paydown of the debt.
For this and other reasons, earlier this year we reinstated buybacks for the first time in seventy years. We are very pleased with the results of the buyback program to date. We have now conducted ten buyback operations. For the operations we have conducted thus far, we have purchased securities with remaining maturities of between 15 and 25 years. In May, we instituted a regular schedule for buybacks.