Statistical news focuses on the latest figures and trends in Danmarks Nationalbank’s statistics. Statistical news is targeted at people who want quick insight into current financial data.
Foreign investors were active buyers of mortgage bonds in February
In February, bonds worth 90 kr. billion were issued behind adjustable-rate loans (RTL bonds). Foreign investors bought 37 kr. billion of the issued bonds, increasing the foreign ownership share of RTL bonds from 16 per cent in January to 18 per cent in February. This is shown by new and improved data from October 2024 on foreign transactions and holdings of mortgage bonds. The improvement provides a better opportunity to track the development of foreign ownership in RTL bonds from month to month than previously, where foreign ownership shares were most accurate in the settlement months of January, April, July, and October (green points in the figure). The improvements from October 2024 are described in more detail in the box below.
Foreign ownership share of RTL bonds has increased to 18 per cent
Note:
Foreign ownership share of RTL bonds in the period from January 2020 to February 2025. Before October 2024, the foreign ownership share is highlighted for the months of January, April, July, and October. In these months, there is typically the least impact from trades made with large differences between trade- and settlement date in relation to the auctions in February, May, August, and November, see the box below. Find chart data in the Statbank.
Improved statistics on securities purchases and sales
In October 2024, Danmarks Nationalbank made a methodological change to the securities statistics. Reporting from the banking and mortgage sectors were changed to be recorded on the trading day when the trade is made. Previously, they were recorded on the value date when the trade was settled. This is particularly significant for trading in mortgage bonds, where the difference between the trading and settlement date can be especially large when trading at refinancing auctions.
The methodological change is particularly significant for the ownership distribution of RTL bonds and variable-rate mortgage bonds, which are often refinanced in large quantities. A significant portion of trades are made with large differences between trade- and settlement date, for example, when the trade is made at an auction in February for RTL bonds that have settlement in April. The change means that the banking and mortgage sectors' purchases and sales of securities appear in the exact month the trade is made, and not two months later when a large portion of trades are settled.
Foreign holdings of Danish securities are calculated as the difference between the reported issuances of Danish securities and the reported Danish holdings. Therefore, the calculation of foreign ownership is improved one-to-one with the improvements in the calculation of the banking and mortgage sectors.
In addition to reports from the banking and mortgage sectors, the securities statistics are based on reporting from Danish investment funds, insurance and pension companies, the government, and the largest non-financial companies, which already report their balances according to trading principles. Knowledge of the remaining part of the Danish investor population is collected using deposit information, which is calculated according to settlement principles. Differences in trading- and settlement dates can therefore still cause minor shifts in the monthly holder distributions between these remaining sectors and abroad.