Source: https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/50799398/public-report-for-2011-valsts-kase
Timestamp: 2020-02-17 22:13:24
Document Index: 80673545

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 3', 'art 3', 'art 4', 'art 5', 'art 6', 'art 7', 'art 7', 'art 8', 'art 8', 'art 9', 'art 10', 'art 11', 'art 12', 'art 13', 'art 13', 'art 14', 'art 15', 'art 16', 'arts 16', 'art 17', 'art 18', 'art 18', 'art 19', 'art 19']

Public Report for 2011 - Valsts kase
The Treasurer’sStatementSafe and stable management of the public finances, optimisation of the central government budgetexecution procedure and the central government debt servicing costs, ensuring the sustainability ofgovernment finances, resumption of investor confidence, as well as management of financial risksessential to the state mark the competence of the Treasury during the period when the stabilisationof Latvia’s financial situation and improvements in the national economy interchange with thetension in the financial sector of the country at the year-end, as well as unfavourable developmentsand uncertainty in the global and European financial markets.The successful closure of the international loan programme in December was one of the mostimportant aspects which had a material effect on the Treasury’s operations. In future, accordingto the medium-term borrowing strategy developed by the Treasury and approved by the Ministerof Finance the Treasury will have to ensure resources refinancing of government debt liabilitiesby borrowings in the international financial markets. The policy implemented by the governmentto overcome the crisis gave a positive impulse for strengthening investor confidence in thecreditworthiness of the country and facilitated Latvia’s return to the international financialmarkets. In June 2011 Latvia issued 10-year bonds with a total value of USD 500 million andin February 2012 − 5-year bonds with a total value of USD 1 billion. The two bond issues arean especially significant point of reference ensuring a stable basis and confidence in successfulrefinancing of the international loan programme during the years to come.The Treasury resumed issues of 10-year T-bonds in 2011, which decreased the refinancing risks in thedomestic market related to the government domestic debt and allowed to fix the debt servicing costsat low levels. Thus, the full spectrum of government securities offer was renewed to the pre-crisis level.The Treasurer’s Content Page 4 of 83
In 2011, the Treasury continued to improve its services by placing the greatest emphasis onthe development of electronic services and online information exchange solutions. Electronicservices has allowed to improve efficiency of central government budget execution processconsiderably resulting in standardised central government budget execution procedures, decreasedbureaucratic burden on the customer and citizens, establishment of preconditions for recurrentuse of information. The progress achieved by the Treasury in good management is proven by thesuccessful supervision and recertification audits of Treasury quality management system and theEmployers’ Confederation of Latvia and the State Chancellery award received in December for theintroduction of good management principles in the public institution through enacting a customeroriented approach, improving financial performance indicators, decreasing administrative burden,optimising resources of the Treasury and its customers, as well as recognising the Treasury as themodel for other public institutions with respect to the simplification of its work and making it morecomprehensible, operative and closer to the society.The personnel that understands the Treasury’s strategic priorities, unified, professional, focusedand conscientious teamwork is a value developed through years, the lack whereof would makeattaining of our goals and performance of tasks impossible. That way the Treasury contributes tostabilisation of the national financial system and facilitation of the welfare of people.The TreasurerKaspars ĀboliņšRiga, 28 February 2012The Treasurer’s Content Page 5 of 83
Operational Strategyof the TreasuryThe ultimate target of the Treasury is to be an institution that is dynamic, modern and gearedtowards perfecting the quality of the services it provides – to be an institution that, in accordancewith the best practices of public financial management, efficiently and securely administers andmonitors the processes of public financial management to serve the interests of the State and itsresidents.The Strategy prescribes the following Treasury operational directions, the execution of which in2011 is described in this Report:1) the central government budget execution, which is oriented towards ensuring aneffective and economical central government budget execution process and the improvementof services provided by the Treasury in accordance with the best practices of financialmanagement;2) central government debt management, to secure the necessary financial resources,including those on public capital markets, at the lowest possible cost, to limit financial risksand, to the extent possible, promote the financial interests of the State in the process of issuingstate guarantees, with consideration given to factors of state macroeconomic stability and thedevelopment of the capital market and financial system, which is aimed at the introduction ofthe euro currency in the medium term;3) cash and state budget loans management, by providing effective and safe cashmanagement, limiting and monitoring financial risks, ensuring the necessary liquidity promptlyand in full amount for execution of state liabilities, as well as performing effective grantingand servicing state loans, with consideration of the necessity to achieve state macroeconomicstability and development targets in the medium term;4) Realisation of European Union policy instruments Paying and CertifyingAuthority functions by organising and standardising the execution of the functions of thePaying and Certifying Authority in a way that ensures the fulfilment of requirements includedin legislative acts of the granting authorities and the Republic of Latvia and also the timelyOperational Strategy Content Page 6 of 83
eceipt of funds from the granting authorities, and also minimises the permissible risk for theinclusion of improperly incurred expenses in expense declarations and reports.The Treasury observes unified institution operation principles to achieve its set targets:1) quality and risk management;2) personnel management;3) effectiveness of the operational management of the internal control system;4) use of information technology and information security;5) lawfulness and legality of Treasury activities;6) institutional administration;7) institutional communication.The principal priorities of the Strategy are as follows:1) efficient human resource management, whereby employee development at all levels and theirinvolvement in the attainment of the Treasury’s targets is encouraged;2) ensuring high-level access to the services provided by the Treasury, in accordance withdevelopments in information technology and by utilising the resource optimisation capabilitiesthey afford;3) efficient and secure administration and monitoring of the public financial managementprocesses in accordance with the interests of the State and its residents.Operational Strategy Content Page 7 of 83
Legal Statusand Structureof the TreasuryThe Treasury is a direct administration institution subordinated to the Ministry of Finance. Itsoperational objective is the effective implementation of public administration functions in the areaof public finance management.The Treasurer manages the Treasury’s operations and is appointed and dismissed from office bythe Minister of Finance.The Treasury has the following functions:1) Organising the execution and financial accounting of the central government budget;2) Providing assignations and making payments from central government budget revenue;3) Central government debt management;4) Functions of the Paying and Certifying Authority for EU policy instruments, the EuropeanEconomic Area Financial Instrument and the Norwegian Government Bilateral FinancialInstrument, and the National Fund functions delegated by the National Authorising Officer;5) Other functions prescribed by laws and regulations.The legal status, functions, tasks, competence, rights and procedure for ensuring legality arestipulated by Cabinet of Ministers Regulations No.677 of the “Regulation of the Treasury”of 3 August 2004 pursuant to the Public Administration Law.The structure and work organisation of the Treasury is established by the Rules of Procedure of theTreasury.Legal Status Content Page 8 of 83
FLOWCHART OF THE TREASURY’S STRUCTURETREASURERDEPUTY TREASURERon financial resourcemanagement issuesFinancial ResourcesDepartmentFinancingDepartmentInternationalCooperationDepartmentForecastingand FinancialPlanning DepartmentFinancial RiskManagement DepartmentDEPUTY TREASURERon central government budgetexecution, accounting, reporting,and transaction issuesBudget Execution andMonitoring DepartmentReports DepartmentInformatics DepartmentOperations DepartmentEuropean Affairs DepartmentOfficeLegal DepartmentInternal Audit DepartmentQuality and Risk Management DepartmentPersonnel DepartmentAccounting DepartmentInfrastructure MaintenanceDepartmentClient Management and ServiceDevelopment DepartmentLegal Status Content Page 9 of 83
In order to limit the financial risks as much as possible, the structure of the Treasury has beendeveloped according to the function separation principle (according to the bank and European debtmanagement offices):1) client servicing and financial transactions;2) financial risk management;3) ensuring accounting and preparation of statements.In order to make unified decisions, the following committees continued their work in 2011:Audit Committee – to improve the operation of the Treasury’s internal control system, tofacilitate the achievement of the Treasury’s strategic goals, to protect its resources, and establishand maintain effective control of measures. The Committee reviews the findings and conclusionsof internal and external auditors’ reports on the Treasury’s operations, recommendations includedin the reports for operational improvements of the internal control system established in theTreasury, and comments provided by the audited structural units concerning the facts discoveredduring audits. The Committee is authorised to decide on potential measures for mitigation orprevention of the most significant risks to the Treasury.Central Government Debt Management Committee – to facilitate effective centralgovernment debt management, develop proposals for improvement and implement the CentralGovernment Debt Management Strategy.Central Government Budget Accounting Committee – to update implementation of thefinancial accounting policy of the central government budget managed by the Treasury and toensure effective management of accounting policy changes. The task of the Committee is to defineaccounting policy and its compliance with accounting standards, establish accounting policyobjectives, improve and update accounting policy and facilitate compliance with the requirementsestablished thereby.Legal Status Content Page 10 of 83
Committee for Management of Information System Changes in the Treasury –to coordinate consideration and implementation of requests for changes to the Treasury’sInformation Systems.Credit Committee – to facilitate credit risk management by coordinating the activities of theTreasury’s structural units concerning monitoring of state loans, guarantees issued on behalf ofstate and counterparty limits.Euro Changeover Committee – to draft proposals for ensuring the euro changeover in theareas of the Treasury’s competence and coordinate the involvement of the Treasury’s structuralunits in implementation of the relevant euro changeover measures.Management Committee – to ensure effective management of the budget and personnelresources of the Treasury, attain the objectives stated in the Strategy, and implement prioritymeasures and new policy initiatives.Resource Liquidity Committee – to facilitate the quality of cash management in order toensure proper liquidity management in compliance with the tasks set in the Treasury’s CashManagement Strategy.Quality and Risk Management Committee – to facilitate constant improvement of theTreasury’s operations and compliance of its services with clients’ needs by ensuring effectivequality, risk and information safety management.Legal Status Content Page 11 of 83
Activities of theTreasury in 20111. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET EXECUTION1.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET EXECUTION FUNCTIONThe Law on Budget and Financial Management has authorised the Treasury as the directadministration institution subordinated to the Ministry of Finance to organise the executionand financial accounting of the central government budget and ensure the granting ofallocations and execution of payments made by budget institutions within the limitsof the appropriations set in the annual central government budget.While implementing the central government budget, the Treasury maintains the Unified CentralGovernment Budget Planning and Execution Information System, where budget accountsfor budget executors are opened; grants allocations and subsidies from general revenue based onthe appropriation of the annual state budget and financing plans registered in the Treasury; ensuresprocessing and performance of payment orders of the clients of the Treasury via electronic paymentsystem of the budget eKase; keeps records of the central government budget revenue as well asprovides information concerning the taxes and fees paid to the State Revenue Service.Ensuring uniform accounting of public finances, the Treasury drafts laws and regulationsconcerning the accounting in the central and local government budget institutions,thereby setting universal accounting principles, a universal chart of accounts and a reportingsystem which is compliant with classifications approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, while yieldinginformation on central government budget execution based on both the cash flow accountingprinciple and accruals principle. The uniform budget reporting system ensures aggregation of thereports submitted by central and local government budget institutions, and is used not only by theTreasury, but also by the Ministry of Finance, State Audit Office, Bank of Latvia, Central StatisticalBureau and other public administration institutions.Activities of the Content Page 12 of 83
1.2. ORGANISATION OF THE 2011 CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET EXECUTIONGRANTING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF ASSIGNATIONIn 2011, the Treasury assigned LVL 5,186.43 million to ensure the central government budgetexecution, including LVL 3,700.38 million for the general budget and LVL 1,486.05 millionfor the special budget. The assignments were granted to 383 state budget institutions,including 119 election commissions.Table 1 Number of Central Government Budget Revenue and Expenditure Accounts at the Treasury in 2010 and 2011General budgetrevenue accountsGeneral budgetexpenditure accountsSpecial budgetaccountsDonation and grantaccountsOperations accountsDeposited fundsaccountsCertified bailiffs’accounts2010 2011 % 2010 2011 % 2010 2011 % 2010 2011 % 2010 2011 % 2010 2011 % 2011291 309 6,2 2041 2104 3,1 44 35 -20,5 242 193 -20,3 5843 6695 14,6 487 516 6,0 119Source: The TreasuryThe number of general budget expenditure accounts in 2011 as compared to 2010 hasincreased by 63 accounts in total or 3.1%. The positive increase was formed of the increasingnumber of implementers of the EU structural fund projects in the state administration, as well asaccounts for 119 election commissions, in order to ensure the Referendum on Dismissal of the 10thSaeima and elections of the 11th Saeima. The decrease in the number of accounts was influencedby the structural reforms performed in the state administration in 2011 resulting inthe continuous reduction of budget institutions, as well as number of opened budget expenditureaccounts.In 2011 the number of operations accounts increased by 14.6%, including the opening ofActivities of the Content Page 13 of 83
1,470 new operations accounts and the closing of 554 accounts. The most significant reason forincrease in the number of operations accounts is the intensively used EU structuralfunds and the projects co-financed by the foreign financial aid, for the implementationwhereof new current accounts have been opened with the Treasury.Pursuant to the amendments to the Law on Bailiffs that came into effect on 1 June 2011, acertified bailiff opens a deposit account, where the funds recovered from the debtorsand other amounts pertaining to the interested persons (deposit amounts) shall bekept, solely with the Treasury. Based on the above amendments, 119 deposit accounts ofcertified bailiffs were opened with the Treasury in 2011.As a result of the state administration structural reforms performed in 2011 (e.g., at theMinistry of Education and Science, merging the Ministry of Regional Development and LocalGovernment Affairs with the Ministry of Environment, etc.), as well as due to the total decreasein the amount of donation and contribution funds, the number of accounts opened bythe budget institutions for accounting of donation and grant funds decreased –49 accounts were closed in 2011.ACCOUNTING AND REPORTINGPursuant to the regulatory enactments, the Treasury prepares official daily, monthly,quarterly reports and the Annual Report on the Central Government and LocalGovernment Budget Execution (the monthly reports are available on the website of theTreasury in the Internet, the Annual Report on the Central Government and Local GovernmentBudget Execution is published on the webpage of the Treasury after receipt of the opinion of theState Audit Office).Activities of the Content Page 14 of 83
The Treasury prepares the Annual Report on the Central Government and LocalGovernment Budget Execution by consolidation of the information from theannual reports submitted by the ministries, central government institutions andlocal governments. The structure and scope of the annual report is prescribed by the lawOn Budget and Financial Management and the Cabinet Regulation Regarding the Proceduresfor Preparing an Annual Report. In 2011 the Annual Report on the performance in 2010 wasprepared by consolidation of the annual reports submitted by 14 ministries, 12 centralgovernment institutions and 118 local governments. Ministries and other centralgovernment institutions include the annual reports of the state budget institutions,derived public persons partially financed from the state budget and institutionsnot financed by the state budget in the consolidated central government annualreport, while the annual reports of local government budget institutions and jointinstitutions are included in the local government consolidated annual report.The Annual Report audited by the State Audit Office is the most significant andcredible source of information on the financial situation of the state as at the end ofthe reporting period and on the central government budget execution results in thereporting year. The opinion of the State Audit Office on the Annual Report is very significantconfirmation that the report provides a clear and true representation of the completeness andcredibility of the information disclosed in the reports. The opinion of the State Audit office atteststhe quality of the information included in the Annual Report and used by Saeima (the Parliament),the Bank of Latvia, as well as different international institutions (European Commission,EUROSTAT, IMF, international rating agencies), potential investors that based on the informationset out in the Annual Report adopt decision on the potential investments in the economy of Latvia.In order to include uniform and comparable information in the Annual Report the Treasurydevelops and updates the regulatory enactments governing the accounting andActivities of the Content Page 15 of 83
eporting of budget institutions.In order to ensure compliance with uniform principles in the financial accounting and reporting ofstate and local government budget institutions, arrangements for improvement of budgetinstitution accounting were carried out, including development of supplements to the existingregulatory enactments, cooperation with other drafters of regulatory enactments within the area ofaccounting, as well as provision of detailed explanations to the compilers of reports.The amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers regulations developed in 2011 and determining theaccounting procedure for budget institutions adjusted the accounting requirements for adecrease in the long-term investment and inventory value, state or local government real propertiesdelivered for possession to the port authorities, as well as the potential assets and liabilities. Theregulations were supplemented by provisions for accounting of inventory received and deliveredfree of charge, as well as a new annex, which replaced Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 440 of21 June 2005, Regulations regarding Fixed Asset Depreciation Norms of Budget Institutions andApplication Conditions Thereof.The 2011 amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers Regulation on the preparation of annualreports of budget institutions, in their turn, supplement the requirements for informationdisclosure on the pledged real properties and specify the reconciliation procedure for mutualsettlements among the institutions of the general government sector. The regulations specify thenorms for preparation of documents in the form of an electronic document and signature thereofby a safe electronic signature.In 2011 for the purpose of supervision of fiscal discipline by the Fiscal Discipline SupervisionCommittee and at the request of international lenders and the most significant users (EUROSTAT,the European Central Bank, international financial institutions, as well as Saeima (the Parliament),Activities of the Content Page 16 of 83
the State Audit Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Latvia, the Central Statistical Bureau)the Treasury prepared and submitted additional information on the progress of the centralgovernment budget execution, most significant financial indicators, by summarisingthe information from the financial statements of the state and local governments, aswell as related and associated companies. The analysis of risks existing in the budgetfinancial management process was performed as well, by adopting the respective decisionson limiting or eliminating them in 2011 and in the mid-term perspective.1.3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SERVICES AND ELECTRONIC SERVICES OF THE TREASURYOne of the operational priorities set in the Strategy of the Treasury stipulates that the servicesprovided by the Treasury must be available at a high level and in line with the latest developmentsin information technology, taking advantage of the resource optimisation capabilities this affords.In 2011 the Treasury maintained and continued development of the following services andinformation exchange systems for the clients of the Treasury:UNIFIED CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET PLANNING AND EXECUTION INFORMATIONSYSTEMThe Unified Central Government Budget Planning and Execution Information Systemmaintained by the Treasury ensures the full state budget management cycle – from the budgetplanning until execution and supervision of the execution thereof:1) the central government budget planning functionality ensures processing of the centralgovernment budget and amendments thereto by gathering data from the ministries and centralgovernment budget institutions (this functionality is carried out by the Ministry of Finance);Activities of the Content Page 17 of 83
2) the central government budget execution functionality ensures the Treasury and statebudget institution processes in the system, e.g., the account formation, assignment grantingand performance process, the central government budget revenue process, the daily, monthlyand annual closing process, as well as the local government balancing fund and personalincome tax distribution process (this functionality is carried out by the Treasury).The Data Warehouse of the Unified Central Government Budget Planning andExecution Information System ensures making reports on the central government budgetexecution in accordance with the central government budget structure.In March 2011, the Treasury introduced a new service – instalment of cash. The aforementionedservice replaces the previous cash instalments into the client accounts opened with the Treasury,thus, within the framework of unified process, ensuring the clients of the Treasury a possibilityto make cash instalments in different currencies into the account opened with theTreasury free of charge.As from 23 September 2011, the Treasury is a member of the Bank of Latvia’s InterbankAutomated Payment System, thus acquiring additional time for the exchange of paymentorders with the members of that system, facilitating the procedure for processing those paymentdata in the Treasury and reducing the operational risks. Upon joining the Bank of Latvia’s InterbankAutomated Payment System, the Treasury made the necessary amendments to the UnifiedCentral Government Budget Planning and Execution Information System that isintegrated with eKase. The Bank of Latvia’s Interbank Automated Payment System isa real-time system for gross settlement for large volumes and urgent payments in latsthat ensures interbank real-time settlements by offering its members the possibilityto perform immediate settlements and continuous management of liquidity. Thus, theTreasury is able to keep track of its current account balances and payment flow in real time.Activities of the Content Page 18 of 83
INFORMATION SYSTEM “REPORTS OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET AND LOCALGOVERNMENT BUDGET”Those submitting reports for budget institutions may submit monthly, quarterly and annualreports to the Treasury and confirm them electronically in the information system “Reports of theCentral Government Budget and Local Government Budget”, thus ensuring mutual economy ofadministrative and time resources.On 2 December 2011, for the development of the information system “Reports of the CentralGovernment Budget and Local Government Budget”, the Treasury received theAnnual Efficient Management Award granted by the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia andthe State Chancellery for the introduction of good management principles in thestate administration institution through enacting a customer oriented approach,improving financial indicators, decreasing administrative burden, optimising theresources of the Treasury and its customers, as well as recognising the Treasury asthe model for other direct management institutions with respect to simplification ofits work and making it more comprehensible, operative and closer to the society.In 2011, within the scope of the annual stock taking procedure of the system, the reconciliationprocedure options were expanded:1) the mutual data reconciliation between the partners of the general governmentsector may be performed not only with respect to the mutual claim and liability accountbalances and mutual transfer charges, but it is also possible to reconcile cash transactions ofany kind and assets and liabilities received and transferred on a non-cash basis;2) currently reconciliation of settlements with the Treasury may be performed not onlyby the cities, towns, districts, ministries and institutions under their supervision, but also stateand local government capital companies, as well as ports. The reconciliation of the data for 2011Activities of the Content Page 19 of 83
was performed with respect to the paid and received funds from the personal income tax andlocal government financial adjustment fund, the funds received from the state social securitymandatory instalments, entrepreneurship risk state duty, the loans granted by the Treasuryand guarantees issued on behalf of the state, term deposits with the Treasury and interest in theaccount balances. Electronic reconciliation with the Treasury ensures a more effective exchangeof information, reduced circulation of document hard copies and necessity to store thereof,thus having the possibility to save the time and financial resources both for the Treasury and itscustomers and cooperation partners.The Treasury has supplemented the range of services rendered to the localgovernments, and in cooperation with the local governments it has developeda new service – the possibility for the local governments to plan the budget inthe information system “Reports of the Central Government Budget and LocalGovernment Budget”. The planning functionality has been introduced in the systemconsidering the desire and suggestions of the local governments to ensure central governmentbudget planning of the respective degree of detailed elaboration. The system offers the localgovernments a possibility to plan the initial budget split by budget types for each year and to makeamendments to the budget, as well as to plan the budget independently by choosing particularsettings for creating forms and the possibility to develop and print reports on each form.The information system “Reports of the Central Government Budget and Local GovernmentBudget” offers extended electronic services user options, ensures more effective exchange ofinformation between transaction partners and availability of different types of informationtogether. Users of the electronic service may supervise the financial indicators of theirinstitution and the bodies under their supervision in a more convenient manner, andobtain more effective and quality information for the implementation of the financialmanagement processes.Activities of the Content Page 20 of 83
BUDGET ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM eKASEThe Treasury ensures rendering payment services electronically using eKase. Through eKasethe Treasury ensures the possibility for the customers to perform payment orders,view the payment order performance results, as well as to receive the financialinformation offered by the Treasury: account status (balance), account turnover statementsand summary on revenues or resources for covering expenses and expenditures.Within the framework of the project Improvement of the Treasury Online Data Exchange System,financed by the ERDF in 2011, the development of the eKase online data exchange module wascommenced, the purpose whereof is to ensure the possibility for all the institutions administeringthe central government budget payments to effectively obtain data on the payments transferredinto the central government budget accounts, thus ensuring effective and complete paymentrecognition process. Within the scope of the ERDF project, the payer will also be ensured apossibility to verify that the payment made by it has been transferred into the appropriatecentral government budget account and that the payer may receive the requested service.INFORMATION SYSTEM “FINANCIAL PLAN PROCESSING”The financing plan processing information system is used by the users of all ministriesand central government institutions in order to prepare and submit the approvedfinancing plans to the Treasury. In 2011 9,567 general budget and special budgetfinancing plans were registered and processed in the system.During the improvement of the system at the end of the year, a new version of theinformation system was developed and introduced that improved the convenience of its use,Activities of the Content Page 21 of 83
data integrity and also ensures the possibility for the institutions supervised by the ministries touse it by setting the respective access regimes. Considering the amendments to the 28 December2010 Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 1220 Procedures for Granting and ImplementingAssignations, as from 1 January 2012, approval of the financing plan projects in the systemis performed only electronically.CREDIT CARDS TIED TO THE TREASURY ACCOUNTSThe Treasury in collaboration with JSC Swedbank provides budget institutions the opportunityto perform budget expenditures with credit cards tied to the Treasury accounts. Creditcard services are provided for expenditures incurred by staff on business trips and visits, as well asadministrative expenses. By introducing credit cards tied to the Treasury accounts the employees ofcentral government budget institutions are ensured the possibility to make non-cash payments duringtheir business trips, complying with the Law on Budget and Finance Management, which requiresthat central government budget expenditures are to be made from accounts opened with the Treasury.In 2011 the services provided by credit cards tied to Treasury accounts were used by 95 statebudget institutions and a total of 925 credit cards were issued to them.PAYMENT CARD ACCEPTANCE DURING COLLECTION OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGETPAYMENTSIn 2011 the Treasury in co-operation with JSC SEB banka and JSC Citadele banka continuedintroduction of the service of accepting payment cards at the institutions administering the centralgovernment budget payments.Activities of the Content Page 22 of 83
The agreement entered into by JSC SEB banka and the Treasury provides for free-of-chargeinstallation, servicing of payment card terminals and staff training in the operation of the terminaland the general principles of accepting payment cards.201110.900.37488The purpose of the payment card acceptance service is to ensure the possibility for privateindividuals to use VISA, VISA Electron, MasterCard, Maestro and American Express20106.660.28479payment cards as a means of payment for the services rendered by the state budgetinstitutions at the state budget institutions (as well as institutions and organisations20092.310.08366collecting state budget payments).Chart 1Number of transactions (in millions)The number of terminalsCentral government debt % of GDPDynamics of the service of payment cardacceptance (VISA, MasterCard and AmericanExpress) (2009 – 2011)Source: The TreasuryIn 2011, 488 payment card terminals were installed in the institutions administering budgetpayments. In 2011, 372,767 transactions for the total amount of LVL 10,899,318 wereperformed with payment cards in the institutions administering budget payments. As comparedto the data of 2009 and 2010, a rapid increase in the number of transactions and theamounts collected may be observed, the fact of which indicates that the inhabitants approveof the service and the use of payment cards in settlements with the state increases.Within the framework of the agreement made between the Treasury and JSC SEB banka on ensuringlending of the POS terminals and acceptance of the MasterCard and VISA system payment cards andpayment for the transactions performed by those cards, on 1 August 2011, the Treasury, JSCSEB banka and the State Land Service in cooperation with the card settlement centre(FirstData Latvia) introduced the service for the acceptance of MasterCard and VISAsystem payment cards in the portal www.kadastrs.lv. On 6 December 2011, such an agreementwas also made among the Treasury, JSC Citadele banka and the State Land Service on the acceptance ofAmerican Express payment cards in the portal www.kadastrs.lv.Activities of the Content Page 23 of 83
CENTRALISED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING SOLUTIONAs from 2011, the Treasury has introduced and maintains the Horizon centralised resourcesmanagement system, ensuring the financial management, accounting and personnelaccounting of the Ministry of Finance and the institutions under the supervisionthereof (departments of the Ministry of Finance) in a unified system. The systemensures the export of the quarterly and annual financial statements to the functionality of theinformation system “Reports of the Central Government Budget and Local Government Budget”thus decreasing the amount of manual work. The centralised solution ensures compliance withthe accounting and personnel accounting principles according to unified guidelines and classifiers,obtaining data for the adoption of management decisions that can be classified in a uniformmanner. Relative savings have been acquired as well – the system is installed on one server in thedepartments of the Ministry of Finance: the centralised technical maintenance thereof is performedby the Treasury, and other institutions of the departments do not have to assign financial andtime resources for the technological support of accounting systems. Unified installation ensurescentralised management of classifiers, by making the necessary amendments in the Treasury andconcurrently delivering thereof to the other institutions.During the implementation of the system after assessment of the work load of employees forperformance of uniform manual operations involved in the accounting, as well as in order toensure uniform and efficient organisation of the accounting process of the institutions undersupervision of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Finance adopted a decision on the takeoverof the accounting and personnel management process of the Lottery and Gambling SupervisionInspection by the Treasury as from 1 March 2011. During further optimising of the accountingprocess within the departments of the Ministry of Finance, the Treasury ensures the accounting ofthe Procurement Supervision Office as from 2012.Activities of the Content Page 24 of 83
DEVELOPMENT OF SERVICES FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTSIn 2011, the Treasury developed the short-term and mid-term plan for development of the servicesof the Treasury in order to ensure the possibility of the local governments to perform the budget inthe Treasury in full.Since the local governments and their institutions are one of the largest and most significantcustomer groups of the Treasury, we have evaluated and now offer the range of services necessaryfor the local governments, which would ensure performance of the budget in the Treasury in full.Currently, the Treasury offers and provides the following services to the local governments:1) opening of accounts;2) rendering payment services;3) use of the reporting information system;4) credit card and payment card acceptance services;5) the possibility to place the free funds of local governments (that have not been received fromthe central government budget) in term deposits, as investments in the account earning profiton the balance of the account or as an investment in the government securities;6) granting and servicing the state budget loans.Activities of the Content Page 25 of 83
1.4. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF THE RESULTS OF ACTIVITIES WITHIN THECENTRAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET EXECUTION PRESCRIBED IN THEOPERATIONAL STRATEGY OF THE TREASURYTable 2 Performance Indicators of the Results of Activities within the Central Government Budget ExecutionIndicators (numeric values)No. Result of activity Performance indicatorsLast known precisemeasurement (2010)Planned in 2011Performancein 2011Proportion of the payments processed through eKase in thetotal amount of payments, %.99 99 991.Optimised results ofcentral government budgetexecution processNumber of institutions using the Treasury online dataexchange system, % of the total number of institutions.Decrease in number of payments which do not match theeconomic classification and purpose of payment made to thecentral government budget accounts (except tax payments), %of the total number of payments.- 50 2 1- 20 - 21 Pursuant to the approved project plan, it is planned to commission the data exchange module of eKase on 1 April 2012. While thecurrent online data exchange system pilot version was used by eight customers of the Treasury in 2011.2 Since the work on the unified service classifier and the unified supporting document identifier solution, which will ensure attaining theresult prescribed in the strategy in mid-term, is in progress, the development and implementation index set for 2011 has not been reached.Activities of the Content Page 26 of 83
2. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DEBT MANAGEMENT2.1. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DEBT MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONIn accordance with authorisation from the Minister of Finance, the Treasury performs themanagement of central government debt and temporarily free funds, transactionswith derivatives and other transactions within the framework of government debtmanagement, as well as organising the issue and monitoring of state loans andguarantees.The annual State Budget Law sets the maximum allowable level of outstanding governmentdebt as at the end of the year, whereas the objectives, basic principles and tasks of the centralgovernment debt portfolio and borrowing management within the framework of the medium-termgovernment debt management are established by the Central Government Debt ManagementStrategy approved by the Minister of Finance.In compliance with the Central Government Debt Management Strategy, central governmentdebt portfolio management is conservative and aimed at limiting and preventing financialrisks, allowing use of derivatives, determined in the Central Government Debt ManagementStrategy, only to ensure management of financial risks. The approach in government borrowingmanagement is to ensure borrowing opportunities, liquidity and beneficial borrowing conditions.The amount of government borrowing, central government debt level and the respective costs tobe set aside to meet the central government debt obligations are affected by the size of the totalfinancing requirement, comprised of the financial balance of the central government budget,the financing necessary for granting state budget loans, the amount of central government debtobligations to be settled, as well as the amount of the required liquidity reserve to ensure theActivities of the Content Page 27 of 83
implementation of the central government budget cycle and commitments. Planned measuresto satisfy the total financing requirement within the current year and the choice of financialinstruments best suited for financing are prescribed in the annual medium-term Funding Plan,which is developed by the Treasury based on the guidelines established in the Central GovernmentDebt Management Strategy and approved by the Minister of Finance. Prior to approval, the opinionof the Bank of Latvia is sought.Within the framework of the central government debt management the Treasury organises the visitsof the analysts of three largest international rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor`sand Moody`s Investors Service, as well as the Japanese rating agency R&I to Latvia, as well asensures them with most recent information on Latvia, which allows the rating agencies to updatetheir opinion. Based on the available information, the investors assess the possibilities of makinginvestments in Latvia (incl., in the government securities). Therefore, the credit rating is an essentialfactor for the availability of financial funds to the state, as well as it is reflected in the price of theborrowed resources. The rating agencies not only review the credit rating of the Republic of Latviaand its outlook every year, but also assign a rating to a particular government security. At the endof 2011, the Latvian credit rating for long-term obligations in foreign currency is Baa3(Moody’s Investors Service) with a positive outlook, BBB- (Fitch Ratings) with a stableoutlook and BB+ (Standard & Poor’s and R&I) with a positive outlook. Upon increasingthe credit rating and outlook of the country to positive, the agencies pointed out thestable economic development of Latvia, the strong government finances, decrease ofthe central government foreign debt and increasing stability of the financial sector.Under the management of the Treasury, the Cabinet of Ministers is informed on the credit rating ofLatvia and the factors influencing thereof, as well as proposals for improvement of the credit rating.The Treasury participates in the process of guarantee issue on behalf of the state byexamining and evaluating the risks pertaining to granting state guarantees. The Treasury organisesActivities of the Content Page 28 of 83
the process of the guarantee agreements signing: i.e., drafts guarantee agreements, guaranteeservicing and supervision agreements and guarantee securities agreements. After signing of theguarantee agreements the Treasury ensures accounting for the obligations undertaken in thename of the state. The permissible amounts of state guarantees and the project implementers aredetermined by the annual state budget law.2.2. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DEBT MANAGEMENT STRATEGYThe Central Government Debt Management Strategy outlines the medium term activitiesof the Treasury in central government debt management in accordance with economicdevelopment trends, as well as by performing analysis of the situation in the Latvian and globalfinancial markets. The Central Government Debt Management Strategy sets targets andassignments in central government debt management.In order to comply with the best international practice, distinction has been made within theframework of the central government debt management between the central government debtportfolio management and the central government borrowing management. The goal of thecentral government debt portfolio management is to optimize the central government debtservice costs over long term while hedging financial risks.The goal of the Central Government Borrowing Management is to maintain opportunities forattracting resources in the international and domestic capital markets on optimum borrowing terms.The Treasury, if necessary, reviews the Central Government Debt Management Strategy and thecompliance of the debt portfolio structure parameters with the macroeconomic and financial marketsituation and forecasts.Activities of the Content Page 29 of 83
2.3. COMMUNICATION WITH INVESTORSIn order to implement purposeful management of investor relations and define the correspondingmeasures to be undertaken, the Treasury continues informing investors and co-operation partnerson a regular basis by preparing the regular information updates.The Treasury prepares an analytical Report on Central Government Debt Management (inLatvian and English) for each year, so as to provide the Treasury’s clients, including the existingand potential cooperation partners of the Treasury and investors in government securities, withinformation on the latest developments in government debt management, performance indicatorsand future trends. The Report on Central Government Debt Management is also sent to otherbodies implementing central government debt management functions in the EU (debt managementoffices), as well as to several embassies of the Republic of Latvia abroad. The cooperation partners(including banks) expressed their appreciation of this form of presenting information on the latestdevelopments in the Latvian central government debt management.Once a quarter the Treasury publishes on its website Central Government Debt Managementquarterly bulletin (in Latvian and English), where it provides the current central governmentbudget execution and debt management data, the latest information on the credit rating of Latvia,borrowings made in the domestic and foreign capital markets, central government debt portfoliomanagement, government securities’ auction trends and results, as well as on local governmentloans.Every week the Treasury summarises, sends to the investors and publishes on its website aWeekly Update (in English) of the most important events in central government budget and debtmanagement, with latest information on the financial sector of Latvia, economics and politics.Activities of the Content Page 30 of 83
201138%2.4. CHANGES IN THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DEBT20102009200816%32%39%In 2011, loans in the domestic and international financial markets were borrowed, as well as thefinancing of the international loan programme was used in order to cover the overall financingrequirement in the amount of LVL 1,092.8 million, incl., refinancing of the central governmentdomestic and foreign debt obligations in the amount of LVL 511.4 million.2007200620057%9%11%Considering the central government borrowing and repayment of the central government debtperformed in 2011 the central government debt increased by LVL 274.0 million in2011 and reached LVL 5,216.3 million in the nominal value of 38% of the GDP at the end of2011, not exceeding the maximum central government debt level as at the yearend amounting toLVL 6,000 million prescribed in the annual state budget law (see Chart 2).0Foreign debtDomestic debtCentral government debt % of GDP5002.5. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DOMESTIC DEBTChart 2Central Government Debt (nominal value) in2005-2011 (in millions, LVL/% of GDP)Source: The TreasuryThe central government domestic debt according to the nominal value as at 31 December2011 was LVL 717.9 million, the major part whereof was comprised of the debt in lats (domesticborrowing securities) amounting to LVL 712.3 million.In 2011, the decrease of the central government domestic debt by LVL 78.1 millionaccording to the nominal value was observed, incl., the decrease of the lats debt byLVL 83.7 million according to the nominal value and increase of the foreign currency debt byLVL 5.6 million according to the nominal value.Activities of the Content Page 31 of 83
ABCDEFG9/1%60/8%205/29%242/31%50/7%59/7%42/6%51/6%137/19%138/17%252/35%214/27%17/3%32/4%A 6-m / B 1-y / C 2-y / D 3-y / E 5-y / F 10-y / G 11-yChart 3At the end of 2011 At the end of 2010Government Domestic Securities inCirculation (million LVL / % of total amount)m – month, y – yearSource: The TreasuryThe percentage proportion of the types of government domestic borrowing securities in circulationin the domestic debt changed in 2011 (see Chart 3).In 2011, the Treasury continued regular government securities auctions. Both the short-term andlonger term government securities were offered to investors. The Treasury issued 6 and 12-monthT-bills mainly to ensure relatively cheap liquidity resources and to maintain operations of thegovernment domestic securities’ market as well as to ensure a regular update of the benchmarkfor short-term borrowing in lats. In order to ensure an adequate supply of governmentsecurities to the institutional investors, the Treasury offered a 5-year bondprogramme and resumed offering the 10-year bond programme, which also reducedthe refinancing risks related to the central government domestic debt and ensuredfixing the debt servicing expenses at relatively lower levels.BORROWINGS IN THE DOMESTIC FINANCIAL MARKET20112010 A0B C F GB C D E F300A 3-m T-bills / B 6-m T-bills / C 12-m T-billsD 2-y bonds / E 3-y bonds / F 5-y bondsG 10-y bondsChart 4Government security issues by maturities in2010 and 2011 (million LVL)m – month, y – yearSource: The Treasury600In order to maintain the securities market and ensure adequate amount of investments to theinstitutional investors as in 2010, the Treasury continued government domestic securities auctionsin 2011 as well: the amount of resources attracted through government domestic securities in 2010was LVL 630.3 million, in 2011 – LVL 427.1 million, thus, as compared to 2010, the total amountof resources attracted in the domestic financial market from securities issues in 2011decreased by LVL 203.2 million.In order to cover the financing requirement of 2011, the following government domestic borrowinginstruments were used: short-term government domestic T-bills with the maturity of 6 and12 months, as well as mid-term government domestic T-bonds with a maturity of 5 and 10-years.Activities of the Content Page 32 of 83
141210861-m4.712%3-m3.038%2-y5.093%3-y5.550%10-y5.705%6-m1.153%5-y4.232%12-m1.694%420JAN2009APR2009JUL2009OCT2009JAN2010APR2010JUL2010OCT2010JAN2011APR2011JUL2011OCT2011Chart 5Average Weighted Interest Rates at theCompetitive Auctions of GovernmentDomestic Securitiesm – month, y – yearSource: The TreasuryIn February 2011, after an interval of almost three years, the Treasury successfullyresumed the long-term bond (with the maturity of 10 years) programme, whichcontinued the profit curve extension process commenced in 2010. Thus, the fullspectrum offer of government securities was renewed as at the level prior to theinternational loan programme. When, during the first half of the year the 10-year bondshad been regularly offered on a monthly basis by mainly focusing on the institutional investors,adequately large investors’ interest was observed and the average profit rates gradually decreased.As from the beginning of the long-term bond programme in February 2011, the average profitrates of 10-year bonds have decreased from 6.724% to 5.705% (-1.01%) unlike the long-term rateincrease trend observed in the global financial markets.Activities of the Content Page 33 of 83
Amount sold (million LVL)Linear (bid-cover ratio)Bid-cover ratio5.085.415.184.602.211.511.361.463.783.19 3.753.132.963.132.443.462.732.712.482.351.551.881.790.753.484.023.77 3.703.573.712.461.612.061.50 1.420.991.0210 10 10 10 8 8 8 8 8 12 8 16 8 8 12 3 16 8 8 12 4 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 16 8 12 8 12 8 8 206-m12-m6-m12-m10-y6-m12-m10-y6-m12-m6-m12-m10-y6-m12-m6-m12-m12-m10-y12-m6-m10-y12-m6-m12-m10-y6-m12-m12-m5-y12-m5-y12-m5-y12-m12-m5-yJAN FEBMARAPR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP-NOVChart 6Activity of Primary Market of GovernmentSecurities in the Competitive Multi-priceAuctionsm – month, y – yearSource: The TreasurySuccessful resumption of the 10-year bond issue was essential for the satisfactionof the institutional investor demand (successful renewal of the market operations) anddetermining the compliance with the Maastricht criterion benchmark rate, as wellas a good precondition for organising borrowing in the foreign market. The successfulresumption of the 10-year bond programme allowed reducing the volume and frequency of issue ofshorter term (6 and 12-month) securities by the Treasury mainly being focused on the issue of midtermand long-term bonds.The bid-to-cover ratio in the competitive multi-price auctions during the year was mainly aboveActivities of the Content Page 34 of 83
ABC21%19%45%one: the demand exceeded the supply – sometimes even more than five times. An especially highdemand for government securities was observed in the auctions of government securities that wereorganised in May and June, the fact of which is related to the confidence of the market participantsand positive figures from the market.DEF6%6%2%G 1%A European CommisionB IMFC Euro bondD World BankE EIBF Nordic Investment BankG OthersChart 7Central Government External Debt on31 December 2011 by Creditors (%)Source: The Treasury2.6. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT EXTERNAL DEBTThe central government external debt according to the nominal value as at 31 December 2011was LVL 4,498.3 million.In 2011, the central government external debt increased by LVL 351.8 million, the fact ofwhich was related to the return of Latvia to the international financial markets in 2011, as well asissue of new euro bonds in the amount of USD 500 million.The major part of the central government external debt is comprised of loans from theEuropean Commission (45%). A slightly smaller portion of the central government externaldebt is comprised of the IMF loans (21%) and loans from the international capital market (19%),which are euro bonds reaching maturity in 2014, 2018 and 2021 (see Chart 7).BORROWING IN THE EXTERNAL FINANCIAL MARKETOn 9 June 2011, Latvia successfully returned to the international financial marketsby issuing 10-year bonds in the amount of USD 500 million with a fixed income rateof 5.25% and a maturity date on 16 June 2021. This issue attested to Latvia’s ability toindependently finance the central government budget requirements and has establishedActivities of the Content Page 35 of 83
a safe basis for a successful refinancing of loans in the financial and capital markets duringforthcoming years. The issue of bonds was performed in accordance with the approved mid-termborrowing strategy and shall be considered to be an important baseline for the commencement ofrefinancing of the international loan programme.THE INTERNATIONAL LOAN PROGRAMMEBorrowing made within the framework of the international loan programme in 2009-2011 wasa significant financing source for the government, as well as it ensured the possibility for thegovernment to maintain the substantial financial buffer , which was one of the most importantfactors for proving the solvency of the state, calming the financial market fluctuations andresumption of investor confidence during the period, when, considering the rapid downturn of theeconomic development pace of Latvia and reduction of the credit ratings to the speculative level,the borrowing possibilities of the state in the financial markets were strongly limited.A1503.1/52%B1084.3/37%C 265.3/9%D 64.4/2%In 2008-2011, the financing in the amount of EUR 7.5 billion was available within the internationalloan programme in order to stabilise the financial system of Latvia, to restructure the nationaleconomy of Latvia through the improvement of the competitiveness of the state, as well as toreduce the influence of risks slowing down the development of economy, thus creating stable basisfor sustainable economic development.A Financing the central government budget deficit and state loansB Repayment of central government debtC Financial sector stabilty measuresD EBRD support to JSC Parex bankaChart 8Utilization of the International LoanProgramme financing (as at 31 December2011, million LVL/%)Source: The TreasuryWithin the framework of the international loan programme, the last tranche from theWorld Bank in the amount of EUR 100 million was borrowed in 2011. The total amountof the borrowing from the international loan programme reached LVL 3.1 billion amounting to~60% of the total initially planned amount of the programme (see Table 3). LVL 2.9 billion wereused for covering the financial needs during the validity of the programme (see Chart 8). Thebalance of the received loans in the accounts of the Treasury opened with the Bank of Latvia as atActivities of the Content Page 36 of 83
the end of 2011 was LVL 220.5 million, LVL 174.8 million whereof, pursuant to the requirements ofthe lenders, are still marked for the potential financial sector stabilisation measures.In December 2011, the international loan programme was officially completed, and during itsvalidity it had ensured a basis for sustainable growth of the national economy of Latvia.Table 3 Financing received within the framework of the international loan programme, EUR million) 3LenderFunding received2008 2009 2010 2011Funding receivedTOTAL by creditorsFunding available,but not requestedTOTALIMF 600 200 300 1100 600 1700European Commission 2200 700 2900 200 3100The World Bank 200 100 100 400 400Nordic Countries 0 1900 1900Czech Republic, Poland 0 300 300EBRD – investment inJSC Parex banka capital100 100 100TOTAL 600 2700 1100 100 4500 3000 7500Source: The Treasury3 The amounts have been rounded up.Activities of the Content Page 37 of 83
LOANS FROM EIB AND CEBOn 30 October 2008 an agreement was signed with the EIB on the loan for ensuring centralgovernment budget co-financing for the EU structural funds and Cohesion Fund projects duringthe 2007 – 2013 programming period. On 26 February 2009 the agreement amount was increasedto 750 million euros, of which 225 million euros have been received. The loan is meant for cofinancingthe EU structural funds and Cohesion Fund projects in the 2007-13 programming periodin areas that are of particular significance for the development of Latvia. These include projects topromote entrepreneurship and, in particular, innovation. The funds will also be available for thedevelopment of employment: for the promotion of higher education, continuing education andlife-long education and for investments in the development of infrastructure: for the developmentof the transportation system, information technology and environmentally friendly energy sources.In order to maintain the possibility to attract the resources of the EIB according to the Treasury’smid-term borrowing strategy, in 2011 the agreement on prolonging the deadline for the submissionof the loan disbursement request until 30 October 2012 was made with the bank.On 30 April 2009, Latvia signed an agreement with the CEB on the co-financing of projects inthe educational sphere, improvement of urban and rural infrastructure for a total amount ofEUR 50 million. The first tranche of the loan, amounting to EUR 25 million, has been received.After negotiations with the CEB, the deadline for withdrawing the loan was prolonged to 30 June2012, thereby maintaining the option to request the remaining part of the loan.Activities of the Content Page 38 of 83
LATVIA IN THE PUBLIC CAPITAL MARKETSThe state CDS trading level has a significant role in determining price for new loan resources byinvestors, especially considering the relatively low volumes of Eurobond trading. The state CDSlevel shows higher risk level and includes market expectations with respect to future credit riskchanges.During the first half of 2011, the stabilisation of the financial situation of Latvia and positivechanges in the credit ratings were reflected in the Latvian euro bond secondary trade levels, as wellas in the Latvian CDS quotation levels. While, during the second half of 2011, the overall markettension of the euro zone had a direct influence on the securities mark-ups in the secondary marketand on the CDS levels.Activities of the Content Page 39 of 83
450400 million EUR due 2014 400 million EUR due 2018 500 million USD due 2021400350300250200150100JAN2010JUL2010JAN2011JUL2011JAN2012Chart 9Latvia’s Euro Bond Yields in the Secondary Market (Basis points)Source: Bloomberg, The Treasury1150Hungary Lithuania Bulgaria Rumania Latvia950750550350150DEC2008JUN2009DEC2009JUN2010DEC2010JUN2011DEC2011Chart 10 5-year CDS level (Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria), Basis pointsSource: BloombergActivities of the Content Page 40 of 83
2.7. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DEBT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENTIn 2011 all central government debt structure parameters specified in the CentralGovernment Debt Management Strategy have been complied with, and the minimumlats debt share in the debt portfolio remained within permissible deviation limits (see Table 4).Table 4 Compliance of the Central Government Debt Structure Parameters with the Central Government DebtPortfolio Structure Parameters established by the Central Government Debt Management StrategyPARAMETERS ON 31.12.2010 ON 31.12 2011 STRATEGYShare of the lats debt 16,1% 13,7% >= 35% 4Maturity profile< 1 year < 3 year < 1 year < 3 year < 1 year < 3 year< 7,9% < 24,7% 10,0% 43,1% < 25% < 50%Share of fixed rates 75,6% 79,5% >= 60%Average weighted fixed period in years 3,62 3,50 3,4 – 4,0Net Foreign Currency Debt Composition EUR 100,05% EUR 99,74% EUR 100% (+/- 5%)Source: The TreasuryDeviations from the limits set for the lats debt share emerged in preceding years and are relatedto the fact that, because of considerable funds borrowed from the IMF, the European Commissionand other international lenders, it has not been possible to borrow funds in lats in an amount thatwould be adequate to compensate for the increase of central government debt in foreign currencies.4 It is stated in the strategy that the lats debt share in the government debt portfolio shall be at least 35%, provided that the lats. debtshare of at least 35% shall be ensured in mid-term, if that complies with the Latvia state macroeconomic, capital market and theentire finance system development trends, and if the weighted average yield of medium-term and long-term government domesticsecurities offered at the auctions held by the Treasury is less than 100 basis points above borrowing opportunity level in EUR.Activities of the Content Page 41 of 83
Following an increase in demand for domestic securities, during the first three quarters of 2011an increase in the levels of lats debt was observed, however, after the decision by the supervisoryboard of the Financial and Capital Market Commission to suspend activities of JSC LatvijasKrājbanka in November 2011, which had material effect on liquidity and demand for domesticsecurities, the level of lats debt decreased. Still, it should be admitted that the lats market capacitywould also have a restrictive impact on the increase of borrowings in lats.To comply with the central government debt portfolio parameters specified in the CentralGovernment Debt Management Strategy, in 2011 the FX forward contracts and cross currency andinterest rate swap transactions were used to manage the net foreign currency debt exposure and toincrease the fixed rate proportion in the total debt portfolio and the duration indicator – both newtransactions were made and the previously concluded transactions were terminated.At the beginning of 2011, following an exchange of the currency assets from US dollars, British poundsand Japanese yens to lats, the net foreign currency debt exposure increased, but it still remained withinthe limits of the permissible deviation set by the Central Government Debt Management Strategy.Considering the upward trend of the value of the euro which was observed in the first quarter of 2011,a decision was made to conclude several FX forward futures contracts, thereby closing the net foreigncurrency debt exposure and fixing the decrease of the government debt at a lower level than prior tothe establishment of the exposure. Thus, as the result of the aforementioned activities, theTreasury has attained a decrease of the central government debt.Activities of the Content Page 42 of 83
In 2011, several cross currency swap transactions were concluded for the management of the netforeign currency debt exposure, thereby ensuring its maintenance within the limits of permissibledeviation specified in the Central Government Debt Management Strategy.Considering the downward trend of interest rates in the eurozone, which was observed from thesecond quarter of 2011, the market value of the concluded interest rate swap transactions decreasedduring 2011. In order to increase the duration ratio, as well as to decrease the transaction partnerrisk, at the beginning of 2011, the Treasury adopted a decision on the termination of an interestrate swap transaction. Meanwhile, in the fourth quarter of 2011, when long-term interest rates inthe eurozone were at their historically lowest levels, in order to increase the duration ratio and tomaintain it within the limits set in the strategy, the Treasury concluded a new interest rate swaptransaction while simultaneously implementing the interest rate risk management measures.As a result of this, in 2011, the Treasury achieved reduction in central government debtservicing costs.2.8. ISSUANCE OF STATE GUARANTEESArticle 37 of the Law on Budget and Financial Management stipulates that only the Minister ofFinance has the authority to grant guarantees on behalf of the state (state guarantees)within the limits set in the annual State Budget Law, committing public funds to implement thePublic Investment Programme projects and business support programmes as well as study andstudent credits.The Treasury ensures the selection of the applicants for the provision of stateguarantees and the procedure for inclusion on the list of applicants for guaranteesand their projects in the draft annual state budget law, as well as participates in theActivities of the Content Page 43 of 83
B I B I B I B I B I I* B I I* B I2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011ABCDEFGHIFor the implementation of projectsStudy and student creditingB In budget / I Issued / I* Issued (Article 8.1)Chart 11 State Guarantees from 2005 to 2011(in millions, LVL)Source: The Treasury26.1%23.5%17.4%10.9%7.8%7.1%4.0%2.5%0.7%A Health care / B Education / C Small and medium-sizedenterprises / D Industry / E Transportation / F SportG The public sector / H Municipal services / I EnergyChart 12 State Guarantees Issued According toGeneral Procedure, by Sectors (%)Source: The Treasury5000procedure for granting state guarantees through reviewing and assessment of therisks related to granting state guarantees and drafting the decision of the Minister ofFinance, the draft guarantee agreements, the draft guarantee servicing agreementsand the draft guarantee securities agreements. After signing the guarantee agreements,the Treasury ensures accounting for the obligations undertaken on behalf of the state.The permissible amounts of state guarantees and the project implementers are determined by theannual state budget law.In 2011, having analysed the experience of other countries, having analysed the potential recipientsof the state guarantees and the goals of guarantees, as well as having assessed the risk ratios andgovernment guarantee securities, the Treasury developed the basic principles for grantingstate guarantees, which will be further used to ensure the efficient use of the state guarantees asthe support instrument, concurrently decreasing the influence of such support instrument on thecentral government debt and central government budget deficit.In 2011, state guarantees prescribed by the law on the annual state budget were issuedfor obligations under the study and student crediting programme for the total amount ofLVL 12 million: to association Latvijas Olimpiskā komiteja (Latvian Olympic Committee)LVL 3.2 million, to LLC Latvijas Piens LVL 5 million, to state JSC Valsts nekustamie īpašumi(State Real Estate Agency) LVL 23.833 million.Pursuant to Article 11 of the law On State Budget for 2011, the state guarantee in the amount ofLVL 71 million for the loan of JSC Citadele banka from the EIB was issued in accordance with theJSC Parex banka state support restructuring plan approved by the European Commission.The state guaranteed loans have been issued also for support of different industries: 17.4% − for thefacilitation of development of SMEs, 26.1% − for health care, 23.5% − for education, 10.9% − for industry.Activities of the Content Page 44 of 83
2011201020092008200720062005816498737381434 163703 381333 381445208310151250141214147Pursuant to Article 7 of the law On State Budget for 2012, it is planned to issue state guarantees forthe total amount of LVL 124.13 million, including the guarantees to the state JSC Latvijas Hipotēkuun zemes banka (Latvian Motgage and Land Bank) in the amount of LVL 71 million and to LLC JPTermināls in the amount of LVL 24.402 million that are the guarantees not issued in 2011 that havebeen carried over to 2012. LVL 28.7 million have been prescribed for guarantees under the studyand student crediting programme, as well as, pursuant to Article 12 of the law On State Budgetfor 2012, in addition to the guarantees stated in Article 7 thereof, it has been planned to issue aguarantee for obligations of the state JSC Latvijas Hipotēku un zemes banka (Latvian Motgage andLand Bank) against the international creditors in the amount of LVL 49 million.The balance of the state guaranteed loans as at the end of 2011 was LVL 498.4 million (seeChart 13), the amount of which, as compared to the balance of the state guaranteed loans at the endof 2010 of LVL 597.1 million had decreased by LVL 98.7 million.The amount of the guarantee agreementDebt (expenses-reimbursement)State guarantees for JSC Parex bankaobligationsChart 13 State guaranteed debt outstanding(thousand LVL)Source: The Treasury2.9. FACILITATING PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPPursuant to Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 1152, adopted 6 October 2009, Procedure for theConduct of Financial and Economic Calculations, Determination of the Type of a Public-PrivatePartnership Agreement and the Provision of an Opinion Regarding Financial and EconomicCalculations, the Treasury has participated in the PPP project assessment and supervisionmechanism by rendering its opinion both on the necessity to adjust the conditions specified in theproject financial and economic calculations and on the potential influence of the project on theamount of the state budget long-term liabilities and the central government debt (opinions on fivePPP projects were rendered).Activities of the Content Page 45 of 83
The agreement with the international lenders prescribes the restrictions for such PPP projects theinfluence whereof on the amount of the state budget long-term liabilities as negative. The influenceof only one project – Development of the Centralised Heating Supply System of the Town of Seda –on the amount of the state budget long-term liabilities was not evaluated as negative, the fact ofwhich allowed performing further activities with that project in accordance with the Public-PrivatePartnership Law.The Treasury was involved in drafting amendments to Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 1152,adopted 6 October 2009, Procedure for the Conduct of Financial and Economic Calculations,Determination of the Type of a Public-Private Partnership Agreement and the Provision of anOpinion Regarding Financial and Economic Calculations. In order to assess the expedience ofthe project and evaluate its fiscal influence, significant amendments to the regulation have beenmade, by introducing a mandatory requirement for the project applicants to submit the financialcalculations in Microsoft Office Excel or any equivalent form, which ensures clarity of formulasused in calculations. In 2011, the work on the development of draft amendments to the Public-Private Partnership Law was commenced.Activities of the Content Page 46 of 83
2.10. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF THE RESULTS OF ACTIVITIES WITHIN THECENTRAL GOVERNMENT DEBT MANAGEMENT PRESCRIBED IN THEOPERATIONAL STRATEGY OF THE TREASURYTable 5 Performance indicators of the results of activities within the Central Government Debt ManagementNo. Result of activity Performance indicators1.Provided financial resources necessary forfinancing the central government budget executionand refinancing of the central government debtwith the lowest possible costs, limiting the financialrisks and considering the development of thecapital market and financial system of Latvia.Ensured compliance with theapproved central government debtportfolio management indicators (%)Indicators (numeric values)Last known precise measurement (2010)Plannedin 2011Performancein 2011100 100 1002.Performed activities of investor relationshipmanagement programme (investor meetings,telephone conferences, video conferences,development and sending of informative materials)Implemented investor relationshipactivities prescribed in the FundingPlan (%)100 100 1003.Performed activities aimed at compliance with theMaastricht criteria within the competence of theTreasury.The central government debt atthe end of the year does not exceedthe criteria for the level of centralgovernment debt in the MaastrichtTreaty (% of the GDP)Long-term interest rate criteria hasbeen complied with (the rates of thegovernment domestic borrowing~10-year bonds shall not exceed2% + the average indicator of threeMember States with the lowestinflation)44.7% of the GDP(criterion – 60% of the GDP)As at December 2010, the Maastrichtcriterion for the government long-termsecurities rate was 5.20%. Governmentsecurities long-term interest rate in thesecondary market, (12-month average ratio),which, in its turn, is used for determining thecompliance with the Maastricht criterion,was 10.34%Compliantwith thecriterionCompliantwith thecriterionInterimassessment:44.3% of the GDP(criterion – 60%of the GDP) 5Compliant with thecriterion 6Source: The Treasury5 Data on the amount of central government debt as at the end of 2011 will be available in April 2012.6 Successful issue of ten year bonds in the initial market also influenced the long-term interest rate of government securities inthe secondary market, which is used to determine the compliance with the Maastricht criterion. In December 2011, the Latviangovernment securities long-term interest rate was 5.9% (-3.7% as from the beginning of the year) and Latvia has been complying withthe respective criterion as from August 2011 (as at December 2011 it was 7.3%).Activities of the Content Page 47 of 83
3. CASH AND STATE BUDGET LOANS MANAGEMENT3.1. CASH MANAGEMENTThe Treasury Cash Management Strategy approved by the Minister of Finance establishesthe goals, tasks, basic principles and responsibility of the Treasury by performing timely andeffective cash management, observing liquidity requirements and restricting financial risks.Following the terms of the lenders within the framework of the international loanprogramme in 2011, the Treasury continued placing the resources only in the Bank ofLatvia. Upon the closing of the international loan programme, in 2012, within the framework ofmanagement of the temporarily free resources, the Treasury plans resumption of the placement offinancial resources in cooperation both with the local and foreign transaction partners. Therefore,at the end of 2011, the Treasury had already revised the Treasury Cash Management Strategyin accordance with the financial market situation by updating the basic principles for financial riskmanagement and investment structure parameters, as well as envisaging several strategically new trends.3.2. ISSUING AND SERVICING OF STATE LOANSPursuant to the delegation of the Minister of Finance in line with the 29 October 2010 InternalRegulation of the Ministry of Finance, Procedures for Authorisation of the Treasury, theTreasury ensures granting and servicing of state loans in the amount prescribedin the annual state budget law. The procedure for granting state loans is governed by theLaw on Budget and Financial Management, the annual state budget law, as well asthe 19 January 2010 Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 63 Procedures for the Issue andServicing of State Loans.Activities of the Content Page 48 of 83
State loans are intended for the following purposes:1) budget and financial management;2) stabilisation of local government finances;3) investments;4) implementation of commercial activity assistance programmes;5) implementation of projects and measures co-financed by the EU;6) implementation of projects funded through foreign financial aid.The circle of recipients of state loans is defined in Article 36 of the Law on Budget and FinancialManagement. Loan repayments to the government general budget are planned in accordance withthe repayment deadlines and amounts stipulated in the loan agreement.The Treasury performs the state loan supervision and debt recovery activities. Incases when the local governments have failed to perform the obligations under the agreements,the Treasury is entitled to deduct the outstanding amounts from the personal income tax amountspertaining to the local government or the local government financial balancing fund grant. Incases when the commercial companies have failed to perform the obligations under the signedagreements, complaints on the repayment of the loan are brought to the borrowers or a claim isbrought to the court on the recovery of debt and an application on claim security. If a commercialcompany has been liquidated and the debt recovery is no longer possible, the Treasury shall write offthe cancelled debt obligations of the liquidated commercial company in accordance with the 15 July2003 Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 389 Procedure for Cancellation of State Loans by theMinister of Finance. The debt obligations of the commercial companies liquidated in the respectivebudget year are cancelled in accordance with the amount prescribed in the annual state budget law.The total amount of the state loans to be granted in 2011 was determined to beLVL 527.8 million, including the total increase in the state loans specified in the annual stateActivities of the Content Page 49 of 83
law amounting to LVL 208 million and repayments of the state budget loans granted during thepreceding years amounting to LVL 319.8 million in 2011.When granting state loans in 2011, the Treasury complied with the agreement attained with theinternational lenders, which has been set out in the Letter of Intent of the Republic of Latvia dated27 July 2009 stating that the Republic of Latvia undertakes to comply with the set restrictionwith respect to the maximum amount of state loans to be granted, to issue loans solely tothe local governments, save if the loan has been prescribed for the implementation of theEU projects or foreign financed projects or is closely related to the bank restructuringprogramme, by prior consulting the European Commission and the IMF.In 2011, the largest amount of state loans was granted to the financial institutions(state JSC Latvijas Hipotēku un zemes banka (Latvian Mortgage and Land Bank) and the Financialand Capital Market Commission) − making up LVL 196.5 million or 53% of the total amountof state loans. The state loan to the Financial and Capital Market Commission, amounting toLVL 185.6 million, was granted in accordance with the norms of the law On Budget and FinancialManagement for ensuring the payment of the guaranteed reimbursements provided for in the lawfrom the Deposit Guarantee Fund due to the insolvency of JSC Latvijas Krājbanka.In 2011, state budget loans to the amount of LVL 110.3 million or 29.8% of the totalamount of state loans were granted to local government authorities. The major part ofthis - 89% of the state loans issued to local government authorities – were for theimplementation of EU co-financed projects. The remaining portion was issued for budgetand financial management, financial stabilisation, ensuring heating season and the purchase offuel, for the purchase of transportation necessary for the performance of autonomous functions,implementation of those infrastructure projects, where the actual investment of the localgovernments is not less than 75% of the total expenditure and the amount of the necessary loanActivities of the Content Page 50 of 83
AB 12%C 12%D 11%E 8%F 5%G 3%H 2%I 2%J 1%K 1%43%A Development of territory / B Water-supply / C Culture,recreation / D Education / E Power industry / F Stability offinances / G Tourism / H Other / I Social securityJ Budget and financial management / K Environmental protectionChart 14 Breakdown of State Budget Loans Issued in2011 to local governments by Purposes (%)20112010200920082007Source: The Treasury251397370355430From the Treasury129126126138133From other institutionsChart 15 Debt of local governments during the periodfrom 2007 to 2011 (LVL million)Source: The Treasurydoes not exceed 25% of the total expenditure until full commissioning of the object in 2011, andimplementation of those local government projects, the government loan agreements whereon hadbeen made by the local governments in 2009 and 2010 while the financing for the implementationof the projects was necessary in 2011 as well.State loans to the amount of LVL 62.6 million or 16.9% of the total amount were also grantedto a number of non-financial merchants for the implementation of EU co-financed projects forrefurbishing and repairing water supply and heating systems (LLC Grobiņas siltums, LLC Dobelesūdens, LLC Brocēnu siltums, etc.). With reference to the goals specified in Article 81 of the law OnBudget and Financial Management, not exceeding 10% of the GDP amount set in the law On the StateBudget for 2011, a state loan amounting to LVL 16 million was granted to JSC Air Baltic Corporation.The remaining part of the state loans, making up LVL 0.77 million or 0.2% of the total amount, wasgranted to merchants which are managed and financed by local governments, such as hospitalsfor the implementation of EU co-financed projects (LLC Viļānu slimnīca (Viļāni hospital), LLCPriekules slimnīca (Priekule hospital), LLC Jēkabpils reģionālā slimnīca (Jēkabpils Regionalhospital)) and LVL 0.45 million or 0.1% were granted to the state financed institution RigaTechnical University, which used the loan to ensure current assts due to the suspension of financialservices rendered by JSC Latvijas Krājbanka.The local governments may borrow loans from other lenders solely with theconsent of the Minister of Finance and in case the loan terms of the other lenderare more favourable as compared to the ones offered by the Treasury. In 2011, thelocal governments have borrowed state loans from the Treasury amounting to 99%of the total sum of received loans (both from the Treasury and from other lenders). The totaloutstanding debt of the local governments as at 31 December 2011 was LVL 562.7 million,incl., the debt obligations to the Treasury in the amount of LVL 430.2 million.Activities of the Content Page 51 of 83
Pursuant to the law On State Loans for 2012, the total increase of state loans in 2012 is set atLVL 208 million, which includes a total increase of local government borrowings amounting toLVL 76 million.3.3. LIQUIDITY MANAGEMENTThe objective of liquidity management is to ensure availability of cash to meet financialliabilities in due time and in the full amount. The Treasury engages in the following activities withthe intention of complying with the liquidity requirements:1) monitors the stock of liquid resources as well as compliance with the liquidity limits and size ofthe liquid resources reserve;2) timely identifies and prevents situations that may impair liquidity and result in a payment orliquidity crisis;3) deposit temporarily free funds so as to maintain an adequate stock of liquidity that wouldensure the required liquid resources reserve and compliance with liquidity limits within therelevant period.In managing financial resources, the Treasury observes the liquidity requirements, thus preventingthe occurrence of a liquidity crisis. Based on the results of the analysis of the performance ofliquidity requirements set for 2010, as well as considering the liquidity management practice, theprocedure for calculation and determination of liquidity indicators was optimisedand simplified in 2011 in order to increase the liquidity management efficiency.In 2011, based on the financing requirement and financial market developments, theTreasury ensured the availability of the liquid resources required for execution of financialobligations, as well as deposited temporarily free funds solely in the Bank of Latvia.Activities of the Content Page 52 of 83
In 2011, the resources available in the Treasury accounts, the resources attracted in the domesticand external financial markets, as well as the resources available under the international loanprogramme were used to ensure liquidity.SUPPORT MEASURES FOR ENSURING THE LIQUIDITY OF JSC PAREX BANKA ANDJSC CITADELE BANKAIn 2011, within the framework of the support measured for ensuring the liquidity ofJSC Parex banka, in accordance with the authorisation of the Minister of Finance, the capital wasincreased twice: on 2 September by LVL 20 million, when the accrued interest on deposits wascapitalised, and on 14 December by LVL 19.8 million, when the term deposits of the Treasury in theamount of LVL 18.5 million were suspended (LVL 12.4 million thereof were capitalised) and theaccrued interest on those term deposits in the amount of LVL 7.4 million was capitalised.On 5 May, JSC Parex banka repaid the syndicated loan of LVL 163.4 million, which had beensecured by the state guarantee.On 29 December, upon change of the status of JSC Parex banka, all the state aid term deposits inthe equivalent of LVL 427.8 million were converted into dematerialised bonds of closed issued ofJSC Parex banka.At the end of 2011, the amount of bonds issued by JSC Parex banka was the equivalent ofLVL 427.8 million, and the investment in the capital of JSC Parex banka was LVL 206.4 million,while the state aid term deposits were cancelled.In 2011, JSC Citadele banka repaid three state aid term deposits; one in the amount equivalent toActivities of the Content Page 53 of 83
LVL 32.75 million was repaid on the planned deadline on 30 September, and two term depositswere repaid prior to their maturity: on 18 January and 20 December respectively, each in theamount equivalent to LVL 32.75 million. In 2011, JSC Citadele banka repaid the state aid termdeposits in the total amount of LVL 98.25 million, and the remaining amount of term deposits as atthe end of 2011, which is planned to be repaid during the first quarter of 2012, is LVL 32.75 million.3.4. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF THE RESULTS OF ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE CASHMANAGEMENT AND STATE BUDGET LENDING PRESCRIBED IN THE OPERATIONALSTRATEGY OF THE TREASURYTable 6 Performance indicators of the results of activities within the cash management and state budget lendingIndicators (numeric values)No. Result of activity Performance indicatorsLast known precisemeasurement (2010)Plannedin 2011Performancein 20111.Efficient and safe cashmanagement.Ensured interest income from the investment of funds of the centralgovernment budget in the amount prescribed in the annual state budget law(% compliance with the annual plan).145,7 7 100 286,4Source: The Treasury7 Interest income from deposits and account balances in 2011 were worth 43,2 million lats or 286% of the amount prescribed in theState Budget Law for 2011.Activities of the Content Page 54 of 83
4. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PAYING AND CERTIFYINGAUTHORITY FOR EUROPEAN UNION POLICY INSTRUMENTSIn accordance with the provisions of the regulatory enactments, the Treasury performs thefunctions of the Paying and Certifying Authority of the EU policy instruments, the EuropeanEconomic Area financial instruments and the Norwegian government bilateral financialinstrument, as well as for the Latvian and Swiss cooperation programme.In 2011, in order to ensure implementation of those functions, the Treasury participated in thedevelopment of the regulatory base necessary for the administration and implementation ofthe European Economic Area financial instruments and the Norwegian government bilateralfinancial instrument of the 2009-2014 planning period and in commentation of the draft Cabinetof Ministers orders on the programmes co-financed by the financial instruments, as well asin development of amendments to several regulatory enactments related to administration offinancial instruments.In order to find a systematic, uniform approach and practice for the preparation of confirmationfor approval of the statement of expenditure, in 2011, the Treasury developed Guidelines for thePreparation of Confirmation for Approval of the Statement of Expenditure providingexplanations to the responsible and cooperation institutions on preparation of the aforementionedconfirmation. Support has been also provided to the managing authority for the improvement ofthe functionality of the EU Structural Fund and Cohesion Fund management information system,since it has been planned to release the responsible and cooperation institutions from the processof preparation of the statement of expenditure and for the Treasury to commence preparation ofthe statement of expenditure using the data from the information system.Activities of the Content Page 55 of 83
4.1. FUNCTION OF THE PAYING AUTHORITY DURING THE PROGRAMMING PERIODFROM 2004 TO 2006In accordance with the provisions of EU Regulations, a Paying Authority is one or severalnational, regional or local authorities or bodies designated by the Member Stateto certify the incurred expenditure, submit payment claims and Declarations ofExpenditure, and receive payments from the European Commission. The PayingAuthority, as well as other institutions involved in implementation of the EU policy instruments,have to ensure operation of the instruments in compliance with EU interests, as well as effectivemanagement and monitoring of structural funds in accordance with the provisions of EURegulations and guidelines.The functions of the Paying Authority are to receive funds from the EuropeanCommission and to perform payments to the final beneficiaries within the shortestterm and in full amount.The Treasury started implementing Paying Authority functions as of 1 May 2004.The Treasury performed the functions of Paying Authority for the following EU policyinstruments:1) EU structural funds – ERDF, ESF, EAGGF and FIFG;2) Cohesion Fund;3) European Community initiative EQUAL.The EU Structural Fund final statement of expenditure (statement, according to which the part ofthe EU financing for the declared and not yet received elegible expenditure was requested fromthe European Commission) for each of the funds were submitted in 2010, and as from submissionActivities of the Content Page 56 of 83
of the final documents to the European Commission the closure process of the 2004-2006 EU Structural Fund planning period was commenced. The closure procedure is atime consuming process, therefore we consider the final payments received from the EuropeanCommission in full within the framework of the EAGGF and ESF in 2011 to be very positiveinformation.Pursuant to the terms of the regulations, the eligibility period of project expenditure financed bythe Cohesion Fund ends on 31 December 2010; therefore, in 2011, the Treasury performedthe necessary verification on checks to ensure submission of the final statementsof expenditure to the European Commission by the deadline set in the regulatoryenactments, i.e., by 30 June 2011. In 2011, within the framework of the Cohesion Fund,22 statements of expenditure were submitted to the European Commission, 17 whereof werethe closing statements of expenditure and five were interim statements of expenditure, intotal requesting EUR 81,915 thousand from the European Commission. Since the majorpart of the projects financed by the Cohesion Fund were completed in 2010 and thefinal statements of expenditure thereon had been sent in 2011, the amount of declaredexpenditures in 2011 as compared to 2010 was considerably larger (see Table 7).Table 7 Comparison of the Cohesion Fund expenditures certified for theEuropean Commission in 2011 with the data on 2010, EUR thousandEU policy instrument2010 2011Sent returns Declared expenditures Sent returns Declared expendituresCohesion Fund 12 71 803 22 318 273Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 57 of 83
4.2. FUNCTIONS OF THE PAYING AUTHORITY FOR THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREAFINANCIAL INSTRUMENT AND THE BILATERAL FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTOF THE NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENTThe Treasury is the paying authority also for the Financial instrument of theEuropean Economic Area and the bilateral Financial instrument of the Norwegiangovernment (during the 2004 2009 planning period).65 individual projects, three programmes (integration of environmental policy in Latvia, facilitationof PPP, cross-border cooperation) and six grant schemes (strengthening of civil society and publicintegration, academic studies, non-governmental organisation fund, scholarship grant scheme,project preparation fund, short-term expert fund) for the total amount of LVL 31.6 million wereimplemented within the framework of the financial instruments. Since the eligibility period theprojects expired in April 2011 submission of the project interim reports to the Financial MechanismOffice was ensured by the deadline specified in the regulatory enactments, i.e. by the end of October2011. An addition 36 project comletion reports were sent, from which closing payment requests for21 project of have been approved by the Financial Mechanism Office and the final payments havebeen received within the framework of those projects (see Table 8). Submission of the remainingproject completion reports to the Financial Mechanism Office will be continued in 2012.Table 8 Funds Claimed and Received in 2011 within the Framework of the European Economic Area FinancialInstrument and the Norwegian Government Bilateral Financial Instrument, Compared with 2010, (thousand EUR)Type of paymentNumber of reports sent Amount claimed Amount received2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011Interim/ final 142 165 16 621 15 414 16 885 15 145 8Source: The Treasury8 The amount has been specified taking into consideration the funds repaid to the Financial Mechanism Office, which were received inadvance, but were not used.Activities of the Content Page 58 of 83
4.3. FUNCTIONS OF A PAYING AUTHORITY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORKOF THE LATVIAN AND SWISS CO-OPERATION PROGRAMMEBy the end of 2011, the competent institutions of Switzerland had approved six individual projects,one programme, three grant schemes, one technical support, including the project preparationfund project for the total financing of LVL 32.8 million (100% of the total available financing). 11 ofthe planned 12 project agreements have been signed between Latvia and Switzerland. It is plannedto sign the final project agreement and to commence implementation thereof during the 1st quarterof 2012.The Paying Authority verified and submitted 13 fund payment requests to the competentinstitutions of Switzerland within the Latvia and Switzerland cooperation programme in 2011,from which three requests whereof were advance payment requests and ten were interim payments.In 2011, the projects were actively implemented, which fact is proven also by the information on theamount of claimed financing in 2011 as compared to the data of 2010 disclosed in Table 9.Table 9 Funds Claimed and Received in 2011 within the Latvian and Swiss Co-operation Programme, (million CHF)Type of paymentNumber of reports sent Amount claimed Amount received2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011Advance 2 3 5 822 7 763 5 822 7 763Interim910 250 9 5502239 529Total 11 13 6 072 17 313 6 045 17 292Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 59 of 83
4.4. FUNCTION OF THE CERTIFYING AUTHORITY AND PAYING AUTHORITY DURINGTHE PROGRAMMING PERIOD OF 2007-2013In compliance with the Law of the EU Structural Funds and Cohesion Fund management, theTreasury acts as a Certifying Authority and Paying Authority for the European RegionalDevelopment Fund, European Social Fund and Cohesion Fund in the programming periodfrom 2007–2013. The functions of the Certifying Authority include preparation ofcertified Statements of Expenditure and payment claims and their submission tothe European Commission, as well as certifying that the declared expenditure iscompliant with the existing European Community and Member State Regulations.The function of the paying authority is to ensure accounting of the EU Funds financing receivedand used from the European Commission and to make payments to the final beneficiarieswithin the shortest possible time.In 2011, within the framework of the EU Funds for the 2007-2013 planning period, the payingauthority verified and processed 7,535 payment claims, including 607 advance payments.The Paying Authority performed repayments to the final beneficary from the EU funds in theamount of LVL 454,228 (EUR 643,295). The Treasury has paid LVL 86,826 as advance paymentswithin the framework of the EU fund projects.In 2011, the certifying authority received 242 statements of expenditure from the cooperationand responsible institutions and verified them within the set deadline and submitted22 statements of expenditure to the European Commission.Activities of the Content Page 60 of 83
Table 10 Expenditures Certified for the European Commission and Refunds received in 2011, compared with 2010, million EUREU policy instrumentEligible expenditures declared Requested from European Commission Received from European Commission2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011Operational programme (ESF) 176 728 152 004 143 699 129 090 135 187 123 459Operational programme (ERDF) 55 214 82 192 35 594 34 516 41 156 26 000Operational programme 207 202 492 672 174 198 409 595 234 800 362 571incl. ERDF 105 567 307 579 92 110 262 709 98 063 231 871incl. Cohesion Fund 101 635 185 093 82 088 146 886 136 737 130 700Total 439 144 726 868 353 591 573 201 411 143 512 030Source: The Treasury4.5. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF THE ACTIVITY RESULTS PRESCRIBED IN THEOPERATIONAL STRATEGY OF THE TREASURY WITHIN THE IMPLEMENTATIONOF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE PAYING AND CERTIFYING AUTHORITY FOR EUPOLICY INSTRUMENTSTable 11 Performance Indicators of the Results of Activities within Implementation of theFunctions of the Paying and Certifying Authority for EU Policy InstrumentsNo. Result of activity Performance indicatorsIndicators (numeric values) 9Last known precise measurement (2010) Planned in 2011 Performance in 20111.Completely paidcertified expenditures.Payments received from the EuropeanCommission, % of the payments requested fromthe European Commission.100 100 100Source: The Treasury9 The cases when the European Commission applies financial adjustments or withdraws claims of debtors’ not timely paid by anotherauthority are not taken into account.Activities of the Content Page 61 of 83
5. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE OF THE TREASURYAS A PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION INSTITUTION5.1. THE TREASURY’S FINANCING AND ITS SPENDINGThe Treasury’s financing is comprised of:1) A grant from general revenue;2) Service charges and other self-generated revenue:- revenue from the state loan service,- revenue from the central government guarantee service.In 2011, the Treasury implemented the following general budget programmes and subprogrammes:1) Programme “Central Government Budget Execution and Central Government DebtManagement”:- sub-programme “Central Government Budget Execution”;- sub-programme “Central Government Debt Management”;2) Sub-programme “Contributions to International Organisations”;3) Sub-programme “Compensation to Rehabilitated Citizens”;4) Programme “State Loans and their Repayments”;5) Sub-programme Projects of Limited Tenders Financed by the European Regional DevelopmentFund (ERDF) (2007-2013);6) Sub-programme Implementation of the European Social Fund (ESF) Projects and Events(2007-2013);7) Programme Grant to Local Government Equalisation Fund.Activities of the Content Page 62 of 83
The objective of the sub-programme “Central Government Budget Execution” is theensuring of an effective and economical budget execution process and the improvement of servicesprovided by the Treasury in accordance with the best practices of financial management.The objective of the sub-programme “Central Government Debt Management” is tosecure the necessary financial resources, including those on public capital markets, at the lowestpossible cost, to limit financial risks and, to the extent possible, promote the financial interestsof the State in the process of issuing state guarantees, with consideration given to factors of statemacroeconomic stability and the development of the capital market and financial system, which isaimed at the introduction of the euro currency in the medium term, as well as to ensure efficientand safe cash management through the limitation and supervision of financial risks, timely and fullensuring of the liquidity necessary for performance of financial obligations of the government.The objective of the sub-programme “Contributions to International Organisations”is to make annual membership contributions of the Republic of Latvia to international financialorganisations and payments into the capital and/or reserves of the international financialinstitutions where the Republic of Latvia is a holder of capital shares, in due time and full amount,thus ensuring settlement of the undertaken commitments.The objective of the sub-programme “Compensation to Rehabilitated Citizens” is to ensuredisbursement of compensation to rehabilitated citizens in compliance with the laws and regulations.The objective of the programme “State Loans and their Repayments” is to ensurestate budget lending in compliance with respective budget appropriation, offering to projectimplementers the most adequate financial resources, to provide current information on the stateloan portfolio issued, and to perform the actions required for the process of collecting delayedpayments.Activities of the Content Page 63 of 83
Within the framework of the sub-programme, Projects of Limited Tenders Financedby the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (2007-2013), the project,Improvement of the Treasury Online Data Exchange System, financed by the ERDF wasimplemented to ensure the receipt of prompt payment data information to all the institutionsadministering the government budget payments. The project is implemented within the scopeof sub-activity 3.2.2.1.1 Development of Information Systems and Electronic Services of activity3.2.2.1 Development of Electronic Services and Information Systems of Public Administrationof measure 3.2.2 ICT Infrastructure and Services, of the European Regional Development Fundactivity programme Infrastructure and Services.Implementation of the project co-financed by the European Social Fund “Improvement andDevelopment of the Services Rendered by the Treasury of the Republic of Latvia” has beencompleted within the framework of the sub-programme “Implementation of the EuropeanSocial Fund (ESF) Projects and Events (2007-2013)”. The project goal is to facilitateimprovement, development and accessibility of the services rendered by the Treasury, to increasethe efficiency of servicing procedure through reduction of the administrative burden and servicingfees for the current and potential customers.The objective of the programme “Grant to Local Government Equalisation Fund” is toensure transferring of the grant from the central government budget to the Local GovernmentFinancial Cohesion Fund in compliance with the effective laws and regulations.Activities of the Content Page 64 of 83
Table 12 Government General Budget Financing and its Application (summary by programme, LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) 253 438 068 224 755 369 223 885 4051.1. Grants 251 029 871 223 138 894 221 507 1571.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue 2 408 197 1 616 475 2 378 2481.3 Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) 252 151 594 224 755 369 222 962 4182.1. Maintenance costs (total) 251 878 936 224 441 296 222 650 6162.1.1. Running costs 6 561 235 6 019 984 5 295 2842.1.2. Interests 233 180 357 199 122 370 198 407 7072.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits 167 351 156 971 77 5812.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation2 117 096 3 650 600 3 393 3582.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers 9 852 897 15 491 371 15 476 6862.2. Expenditures for capital investments 272 658 314 073 311 802Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 65 of 83
Table 13 Government General Budget Funding and its Spending for the General Budget Programme“Central Government Budget execution and Central Government Debt Management” (LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) 241 300 724 205 425 402 204 907 9911.1. Grants 238 892 527 203 808 927 202 529 7431.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue 2 408 197 1 616 475 2 378 2481.3. Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) 240 007 720 205 425 402 203 985 0042.1. Maintenance costs (total) 239 735 062 205 132 631 203 694 5032.1.1. Running costs 6 554 705 6 010 261 5 286 7962.1.2. Interests 233 180 357 199 122 370 198 407 7072.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits - - -2.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation- - -2.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers - - -2.2. Expenditures for capital investments 272 658 292 771 290 501Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 66 of 83
Table 14 Government General Budget Funding and its Spending, General BudgetSub-Programme “Central Government Budget Execution” (LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) 4 533 023 3 632 132 4 393 9051.1. Grants 2 124 826 2 015 657 2 015 6571.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue 2 408 197 1 616 475 2 378 2481.3. Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) 3 240 019 3 632 132 3 470 9182.1. Maintenance costs (total) 2 967 361 3 339 361 3 180 4172.1.1. Running costs 2 967 361 3 339 361 3 180 4172.1.2. Interests - - -2.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits - - -2.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation - - -2.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers - - -2.2. Expenditures for capital investments 272 658 292 771 290 501Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 67 of 83
Table 15 Government General Budget Funding and its Spending, General BudgetSub-programme “Central Government Debt Management” (LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) 238 567 973 201 793 270 200 514 0861.1. Grants 238 567 973 201 793 270 200 514 0861.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue - - -1.3. Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) 236 767 701 201 793 270 200 514 0862.1. Maintenance costs (total) 236 767 701 201 793 270 200 514 0862.1.1. Running costs 3 587 344 2 670 900 2 106 3792.1.2. Interests 233 180 357 199 122 370 198 407 7072.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits - - -2.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation- - -2.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers - - -2.2. Expenditures for capital investments - - -Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 68 of 83
Table 16 Government General Budget Funding and its Spending, General BudgetSub-programme “Contributions to International Organisations” (LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) 2 117 096 3 650 600 3 393 3581.1. Grants 2 117 096 3 650 600 3 393 3581.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue- - -1.3. Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) 2 117 096 3 650 600 3 393 3582.1. Maintenance costs (total) 2 117 096 3 650 600 3 393 3582.1.1. Running costs - - -2.1.2. Interests - - -2.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits - - -2.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation2 117 096 3 650 600 3 393 3582.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers - - -2.2. Expenditures for capital investments - - -Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 69 of 83
Table 17 Government General Budget Funding and its Spending, General BudgetProgramme “Compensations to Rehabilitated Citizens” (LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) 167 351 156 971 77 5811.1. Grants 167 351 156 971 77 5811.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue- - -1.3. Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) 167 351 156 971 77 5812.1. Maintenance costs (total) 167 351 156 971 77 5812.1.1. Running costs - - -2.1.2. Interests - - -2.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits 167 351 156 971 77 5812.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation - - -2.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers - - -2.2. Expenditures for capital investments - - -Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 70 of 83
Table 18 Government General Budget Funding and its Spending, General BudgetProgramme “Grant to Local Government Financial Cohesion Fund” (LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) 9 852 897 15 491 371 15 476 6861.1. Grants 9 852 897 15 491 371 15 476 6861.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue- - -1.3. Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) 9 852 897 15 491 371 15 476 6862.1. Maintenance costs (total) 9 852 897 15 491 371 15 476 6862.1.1. Running costs - - -2.1.2. Interests - - -2.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits - - -2.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation - - -2.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers 9 852 897 15 491 371 15 476 6862.2. Expenditures for capital investments - - -Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 71 of 83
Table 19 Government General Budget Funding and its Spending, General Budget Sub-programme “Projects of LimitedTenders Financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (2007-2013)” (LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) - 21 302 21 3011.1. Grants - 21 302 21 3011.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue - - -1.3. Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) - 21 302 21 3012.1. Maintenance costs (total) - - -2.1.1. Running costs - - -2.1.2. Interests - - -2.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits - - -2.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation - - -2.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers - - -2.2. Expenditures for capital investments - 21 302 21 301Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 72 of 83
Table 20 Government General Budget Funding and its Spending, General Budget Sub-programme“Implementation of the European Social Fund (ESF) Projects and Activities (2007-2013)” (LVL)NoFinancial assetsIn the precedingyear (Actual)Approved by the lawIn the reporting yearActual1. Financial assets to cover expenditure (total) 6 530 9 723 8 4881.1. Grants 6 530 9 723 8 4881.2. Service charges and other self-generated revenue - - -1.3. Foreign financial aid - - -1.4. Donations and grants - - -2. Expenditure (total) 6 530 9 723 8 4882.1. Maintenance costs (total) 6 530 9 723 8 4882.1.1. Running costs 6 530 9 723 8 4882.1.2. Interests - - -2.1.3. Subsidies, grants and social benefits -2.1.4.Regular payments to the European Communitybudget and international cooperation -- -2.1.5. Maintenance cost transfers - - -2.2. Expenditures for capital investments - - -Source: The TreasuryActivities of the Content Page 73 of 83
20118020STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PURCHASES20108119The procurements in the Treasury are performed in accordance with the Public Procurement20098119Law by applying an open tender, negotiation procedure and procurement procedure, pursuantto Article 81 of the Public Procurement Law. The Treasurer forms a procurement commission20088317that is competent within the area of the procurement an agreement is made on. Procurementsare registered and the agreements are controlled by the accounting software “Horizon”. In 201020078416the Treasury performed 19 procurements (excluding procurements below 3000 lats) and madeagreements for 738 090 lats, excluding VAT.WomanManChart 16 Breakdown of the Treasury Personnel byGender from 2007 - 2011 (%)Source: the Treasury5.2. PERSONNEL AND PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT201120102009200827 40 19 12 225 44 18 11 228 42 16 10 429 29 18 17 7At the beginning of 2011, there were 182 official positions in the Treasury: 165 civil serviceand 17 staff positions. At the end of 2011, in its turn, there were 168 civil service and 17 staffpositions in the Treasury totalling 185 official positions. In 2011, the average number ofemployees including the employees in long-term absence was 181, incl. 164 civil service and17 staff positions.Breakdown of the Treasury personnel by age and gender has not materially changed in2011 as compared to the preceding years (see Charts 16 and 17).200728 27 20 18 7Chart 17 Distribution of the Personnel of the Treasuryby Age Groups from 2007 - 2011 (%)Source: the TreasuryIn 2011, 24 civil servants and staff members, or 34% of the personnel, were laid off(see Chart 18). Taking a look at the percentage change of the employees laid off during the periodof the last five years it is obvious that there have been minor changes, save in 2009, when thecomparatively large amount of employees laid off was related to the structural reform carried out inthe Treasury.Activities of the Content Page 74 of 83
34%During the reporting year, 26 specialists have entered into the civil service or legal employmentrelationship with the Treasury. In order to attract professional personnel, the Treasury continuesits collaboration with higher education institutions and personnel selection agency. In order toensure a professional and impartial personnel selection process, the Treasurer issues an order on12%15%14% 13%the establishment of the selection commission that organises several rounds of personnel selectionby using a scoring system and arranging practical tests and interviews.2007 20092011Chart 18 Personnel lay-offs at the Treasury(2007-2011) (%)ABCDE2%0%0%Source: the Treasury47%51%A performance in all areas exceeds requirements of the respectiveindustryB performance in particular areas exceeds requirements; however,the remaining areas are in compliance with the requirements ofthe respective industryC performance is in compliance with the requirements of therespective industryD performance is not in accordance with the requirements of therespective industry in all areas, improvement of performance isrequiredE performance does not comply with the requirements in therespective industry, all areas require significant and immediateimprovementsChart 19 Results of the Job Performance AppraisalProcess in 2010/2011 (%)Source: the TreasuryThe Treasury continues its usual practice of promoting the careers of its professionals: threeemployees have been promoted to higher-level positions, while four employees have been moved topositions in other structural units.The Treasury pays special attention to introducing new employees to their job responsibilities andthe operations of the institution by preparing the new employee’s work plan for the test period andfamiliarising him or her with the functions of the Treasury and the team. At the conclusion of thetest period, the performance of 16 new employees received positive assessment.Based on the results of the performance appraisals after the test period, seven civil servantcandidates were granted the status of a civil servant.During the annual job performance appraisal, the job performance of 160 civil servants andstaff members was evaluated. Job performance appraisals are used to motivate the personnel, todevelop professional growth and career of personnel, as well as to determine the training needs.The positive results of job performance appraisal (no employee has received appraisal “D” or “E”)prove the fact that the employees of the Treasury have reached high level of professionalism anddeveloped their skills through efficient performance of their job duties and involvement in attainingthe overall goals of the institution (see Chart 19).Activities of the Content Page 75 of 83
The Treasury’s greatest asset is its highly educated and professional personnel. 98% of theemployees are university graduates (43% of employees hold a master’s degree).Despite the limited financial resources, facilitation of professional and personal developmentof human resources remains an important area of personnel management, and also in 2011, interms of organising the training process, the practice of finding solutions for the professionaldevelopment and enhancement of employee competencies by way of various free seminars andexperience-sharing events continued. As in previous years, educational sessions organised bythe employees themselves were topical as well: within the area of information security, projectmanagement (Microsoft Office Project), and corruption risk management. Collaboration continuedwith training specialists engaged during the preceding years, through organising training on theimprovement and development of quality of the services rendered by the Treasury.In 2011, within the framework of the ESF project Support to Reforms within the Area of Budgetand Financial Politics, certain employees involved in the financial area had an opportunity to goon exchange trips, as well as to attend specialised high level training both in Latvia and abroad onthe best practices of other countries and competence in such financial areas as the governmentborrowing strategy and methods for optimising the central government debt expenditures,financial derivatives, credit risk analysis and management, etc.Every year, the Treasury assesses the educational and training needs of the civil servants and staffmembers for the subsequent year. Educational needs are determined by considering the strategicdirection of the institution, the functions of the structural unit and other criteria that justify theneed for training for the performance of the duties of specific positions.After implementation and maintenance of the Centralised Financial Accounting Solution in thedepartments of the Ministry of Finance, as from 2011 the Treasury ensures personnel accountingActivities of the Content Page 76 of 83
procedure also for the Lottery and Gambling Supervision Inspection.5.3. QUALITY AND RISK MANAGEMENTA quality management system has been created at the Treasury through the use of theTreasury’s capacity for improvement and available resources to ensure the compliance of theservices provided by the Treasury with the interests of the State, residents and clients, as well aswith the requirements of regulatory enactments.As from 2006 the Treasury is an ISO certified authority. Since 2009 the Treasuryquality management system has been certified in accordance with the requirementsof ISO 9001:2008 standard. The scope of activity of the quality management system tobe certified is the performance of the central government budget, central government debtmanagement, cash and state budget loan management, implementation of the paying, certifyingauthority and National Fund management functions, all of which are the basic operationalprocesses of the Treasury. In 2011, the second supervisory audit of the Treasury qualitymanagement system was carried out to ensure confidence in the constant compliance of theTreasury’s quality management system with the requirements of ISO 9001:2008 standard. Duringthe audit excellent internal information circulation and employee understanding ofthe strategic priorities of the Treasury’s operations was observed.On 2 December 2011, the Treasury received the Annual Efficient Management Awardgranted by the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia and the State Chancellery for theintroduction of good management principles in the state administration institutionthrough enacting the customer oriented approach, improving financial indicators, decreasingadministrative burden, optimising the resources of the Treasury and its customers, as well asActivities of the Content Page 77 of 83
ecognising the Treasury as the model for other direct management institutionswith respect to the simplification of its work and making it more comprehensible,operative and closer to the public.In 2011, the Treasury, in co-operation with the Society Integration Foundation,successfully finalised the ESF project commenced in 2010, Improvement andDevelopment of the Services Rendered by the Treasury. In order to clarify customersatisfaction with the services offered, the Treasury carried out a comprehensive study throughoutLatvia: the opinions of 512 Treasury customers on the quality of the services rendered by theTreasury and on the overall image of the Treasury were queried through telephone interviews. Theresults of the polling performed within the framework of the project show that 97% of the polledcustomers are satisfied with the fact that the Treasury is introducing e-services more extensively.79% of the polled customers admitted that service accessibility ensured throughout Latvia is veryimportant, since it ensures material saving of administrative, time and other resources of theauthority. In 2011, within the scope of the project, the service quality improvementand development plan, as well as the project management methodology wasdeveloped based on the results obtained from the study. 100 employees of the Treasuryattended project management training in order to ensure improvement of the current services anddevelopment of new services. Introduction of the project management methodology is one of theTreasury’s development priorities for 2012. The ESF project introduced by the Treasury hasbeen included as a sample in the informative material of the Treasury and SocietyIntegration Foundation on the successfully implemented ESF projects in Latvia,since it provides confidence that the work performed and the results attained havebeen used for improvement of public services and increase in their quality.Unfortunately, the Treasury did not succeed in 2011 in attracting ERDF financing for the project forthe introduction of the customer relationship management system; and the Treasury will search forActivities of the Content Page 78 of 83
other solutions thereto in 2012, since the introduction of such a system is very essential for fast andquality servicing of customers.In 2011, the Treasury Risk Management Policy was updated in order to comply with thestrategy of the Treasury and the external regulatory enactments, the risk environment and theorganisational culture.The Treasury is continuously improving its quality management system to ensure that it notonly conforms to the effective requirements of legislative acts, regulatory enactments and theISO 9001:2008 standard, but that it also secures a balance between satisfying client needs and thecontrol functions the Treasury is expected to provide in accordance to the interests of the State andits residents, as well as to instil confidence in its clients regarding the consistency of the quality ofthe services provided by the Treasury.5.4. INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMThe internal control system of the Treasury is established based on the basic elements of aninternal control system: a control environment, work performance appraisal, risk management,control activities, supervision, efficient information circulation and mutual communication.Internal control within the structural units of the Treasury is one of the means to preventpotential loss. In order to reduce risks inherent in the administration of transactions, the Treasuryimplements the double authorisation principle, which determines that transactions have to bevalidated by at least two independent employees. Transacting is governed by internal qualitymanagement documents.Activities of the Content Page 79 of 83
The Treasury has established the control environment culture by ensuring that operationscomply with the quality management system and the code of ethics, by introducing and periodicallymonitoring the strategic direction of the functions, plans and work performance results of theTreasury, ensuring overall risk management procedure and facilitating involvement of theemployees in improvement of the internal control system. The Treasury has implemented suchorganisational structure that clearly defines the responsibility, authority, distribution of duties andprocedure for reporting.The risk management and quality management have been integrated in the daily operations,project management, information system management processes of the Treasury that advancethe control activities of the Treasury from reactive to proactive, thus decreasing the probabilityof the potential loss and ensuring the continuity of the operations. The processes of the Treasuryand the controls to be performed when implementing them, have been set out in the internaldocuments governing the quality management system.The Treasury performs supervision of the internal control system through processmanagement by measuring the process activity quality criteria, through the strategic managementprocess by analysing the activity results, through control self-assessments in the risk management,incompliance prevention processes, through implementation of recommendations forimprovement of the internal control system provided as the result of audits and other assessments.The internal audits and inspections, audits performed by external auditors in 2011 andaudit results, as well as the procedure for introduction of recommendations of externaland internal audits prove that the internal control system of the Treasury functions well,and overall the assessed controls are adequate, sufficient and efficient providing due confidence inthe management of the Treasury’s risks and attaining of the authority’s goals. The internal controlsystem developed in the Treasury ensures the performance of the tasks set by the authority inActivities of the Content Page 80 of 83
accordance with the strategic goals and in compliance with the requirements set out in the externaland internal regulatory enactments, as well as credibility and adequacy of the prepared statements.The Treasury is continuously improving its processes considering the samples of best practices andcompetence of the financial sector organisations, which indicates the efficiency and productivity ofthe activities. The Treasury performs constant supervision and assessment of operational risks andsecures its resources against potential loss.Activities of the Content Page 81 of 83
Public CommunicationACTIVITIES FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION AND EDUCATIONValuable communication between the Treasury and society is possible by ensuring an effectiveexchange of information. The Treasury informs the mass media on a regular basis regardingrelevant issues: it prepares and distributes press releases and provides answers to questions ofinterest to the mass media.The communication processes of the Treasury are significantly influenced by the nationalsocio-political and economic circumstances: the Treasury remained at the epicentre of eventsand the interest of mass media and the public in the operations, functions andresponsibilities of the Treasury was still topical.Pursuant to the Communication Strategy of the Treasury for 2010-2012 approvedin 2011 (updated for 2011-2013), the Communication Plan of the Treasury for 2011was developed and implemented in order to ensure the planning of operative and successfuloperations, to create and maintain a favourable internal communication cooperation environmentin the Treasury and to develop the image of the Treasury by introducing additional externalcommunication activities.Since 2002, the Treasury has been maintaining its Internet homepage (www.kase.gov.lv), whereinformation on the institution and its functions is available. Information on the Treasury’s currentevents is updated and adjusted on a regular basis. It is possible to ask questions as well as submitapplications electronically. Visitors to the homepage can receive prompt answers to their questions,whereby the Treasury has the opportunity to acquaint itself with questions of interest from theirclients and, if necessary, prepare more in-depth information both on the Internet webpage and fordistribution in the Treasury’s Units, as well as identify potential problems and prevent them.Public Communication Content Page 82 of 83
The Treasury’sDevelopmentPrioritiesfor 20121) Further development of the services rendered by the Treasury by using the resourceoptimisation possibilities and review of the control procedure efficiency, active informationtechnology management, information security and its risk management.2) Expansion of the scope and improvement of the quality of services rendered to the localgovernments.3) Timely provision of resources for financing the central government budget execution andcentral government debt refinancing both in the domestic and the foreign public financial andcapital markets.4) Assessment and development of possibilities for the introduction of new domestic borrowinginstruments.5) Measures for introduction of a primary dealer system, incl. development of amendments to theregulatory enactments (medium term development of the government security market).6) Updating and implementation of the Cash Management Strategy.7) Improvement of the expenditure certification procedure in accordance with therecommendations of external auditors and the European Commission.8) Re-certification of the Treasury’s Quality Management System in accordance with therequirements of ISO 9001:2008 standard.9) Introduction of project management.The Treasury’s Content Page 83 of 83
Page 4 and 5: The Treasurer’sStatementSafe and
Page 6 and 7: Operational Strategyof the Treasury
Page 8 and 9: Legal Statusand Structureof the Tre
Page 10 and 11: In order to limit the financial ris
Page 12 and 13: Activities of theTreasury in 20111.
Page 14 and 15: 1,470 new operations accounts and t
Page 16 and 17: eporting of budget institutions.In
Page 18 and 19: 2) the central government budget ex
Page 20 and 21: was performed with respect to the p
Page 22 and 23: data integrity and also ensures the
Page 24 and 25: CENTRALISED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING SO
Page 26 and 27: 1.4. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS OF THE
Page 28 and 29: implementation of the central gover
Page 30 and 31: 2.3. COMMUNICATION WITH INVESTORSIn
Page 32 and 33: ABCDEFG9/1%60/8%205/29%242/31%50/7%
Page 34 and 35: Amount sold (million LVL)Linear (bi
Page 36 and 37: a safe basis for a successful refin
Page 38 and 39: LOANS FROM EIB AND CEBOn 30 October
Page 40 and 41: 450400 million EUR due 2014 400 mil
Page 42 and 43: Following an increase in demand for
Page 44 and 45: B I B I B I B I B I I* B I I* B I20
Page 46 and 47: The agreement with the internationa
Page 48 and 49: 3. CASH AND STATE BUDGET LOANS MANA
Page 50 and 51: law amounting to LVL 208 million an
Pursuant to the law On State Loans
LVL 32.75 million was repaid on the
4.1. FUNCTION OF THE PAYING AUTHORI
4.2. FUNCTIONS OF THE PAYING AUTHOR
4.4. FUNCTION OF THE CERTIFYING AUT
5. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE OF THE TREA
Within the framework of the sub-pro
Table 13 Government General Budget
Table 15 Government General Budget
Table 17 Government General Budget
Table 19 Government General Budget
20118020STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
The Treasury’s greatest asset is
ecognising the Treasury as the mode
The Treasury has established the co
Public CommunicationACTIVITIES FOR
Magazine: Public Report for 2011 - Valsts kase