Because the government's fiscal position has improved, Treasury's borrowing needs have dropped significantly. With buybacks, we can be more flexible in managing the public debt and responding to our improved fiscal position. The improved liquidity for new securities could lower the government's interest expense and promote more efficient capital markets. With buybacks, we have more control over the maturity structure of the outstanding debt. Without a buyback program, we might need to further reduce the size and frequency of new Treasury issues.
Buybacks are a good cash management tool.
With them, we can absorb extra cash whenever revenues are greater than the immediate spending need. That means if you want to participate in a buyback offering, you need an account with a primary dealer listed with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Find the most recent list of primary dealers Click here for the FRB-New York page . More than likely, before a primary dealer will submit an offer for you, you'll first have to transfer the securities for buyback consideration into an established account with the dealer you selected. Bear in mind, however, that there's no way to know which securities Treasury will offer to buy back before the official announcement.