Norges Bank decided in autumn 2025 to introduce central bank certificates as a new liquidity management instrument, and invited market participants to provide input on the programme’s design during a public consultation. See the consultation paper and responses. 

Below, you will find further details about the programme. See also preliminary versions of General Terms and Conditions and the auction calendar. 

Interest rate type, listing, and credit rating 

The certificates will be issued at fixed rate and zero coupon. The certificates will be registered in the Norwegian Central Securities Depository (VPS) and listed on Euronext Oslo Børs. Norges Bank will not take the initiative to obtain a credit rating for the certificates. 

Volume, tenors, and auctions 

Norges Bank will offer a total outstanding volume of up to NOK 79 billion in 2026. Certificates will be issued with maturities of one and three months. Auctions will be held on Tuesdays with settlement and maturity on Thursdays. A new one-month certificate of up to NOK 7 billion will be issued each week, and a new three-month certificate of up to NOK 8 billion will be issued every fourth week. The three-month certificates will be tapped every week for three weeks after the initial issuance, by up to NOK 3 billion. This means there will be weekly auctions in two maturities. The auction calendar is preliminary and may be adjusted during the year if warranted, for example, due to significant unexpected changes in the forecast for structural liquidity. 

Norges Bank will announce auction volume per ISIN in advance of each auction and will normally allocate the announced volume. Norges Bank reserves the right to reject bids and to allocate less than the announced volume. 

The certificates will be sold in competitive auctions through selected primary dealers, who are obliged to submit bids on behalf of their customers. 

Timeline 

Norges Bank plans to test the auction platform in Bloomberg together with primary dealers during March and April. The first auction date is set for Tuesday, 5 May 2026. An updated auction calendar for 2026 will be published well ahead of the first auction. 

Contact likviditet@norges-bank.no if you have any questions.