This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Foreign Official Holdings of Debt'.



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Information Access Team 
Jack Montgomery 
Communications Directorate 
via email to: 
020 3461 4878 
request-831865-
020 3461 5460 
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx 
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8 March 2022 
 
 
 
 
 
Please quote ref. CAS-41754-W2J3D4 on all 
 
correspondence 
 
Dear Jack Montgomery 
 
Thank you for your email dated 10 February to the Bank of England (the ‘Bank’) in which you ask for 
access under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘FoI Act’) to: 
 
‘1. Does the Bank of England have any complete or partial estimates of foreign official 
holdings (holdings by foreign governments and central banks) of British government and/or 
Bank of England debt? 
 
2. Do you have any complete or partial estimates of British government and/or Bank of 
England debt owed to foreign Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), e.g. Norway’s Government 
Pension Fund? 

 
3. Do you have any complete or partial estimates of British government and/or Bank of 
England debt owed to other foreign State/Government-Owned Enterprises (SOEs/GOEs)? 

 
4. Do you have any complete or partial information on the amounts owed to foreign 
governments etc. by country? 

 
To be clear, if you only have a small amount of information on a small amount of the debt 
described above I will accept it; estimates do not have to be exhaustive if exhaustive 
estimates are not availabe.’ 
 
Understanding the exact terms of your request is crucial as, for FoI Act purposes, we first need to 
determine whether we hold the specific information in which you are interested. 
 
In order to help us identify information within the scope of your request, we need a more precise 
understanding about the information you are seeking. For us to take forward your request, we would 
be grateful if you could clarify, in accordance with section 1(3) of the FoI Act, the following: 
 
  what is the timeframe of your request? 
  what do you mean by ‘British government’ debt? For example, do you mean gilts 
issued by the Debt Management Office (‘DMO’) on behalf of HM Treasury (‘HMT’) 
only? Or do you mean something else? 
  what do you mean by ‘Bank of England debt’? For example, are you referring to the 
outstanding US dollar denominated bonds that the Bank has issued in recent years, 
or something else?  
  in question 4 when you refer to ‘amounts owed’, are you referring to amounts that 
may be owed by the British Government and/or the Bank as is the case in questions 
1-3? 
 
I should highlight however that, subject to your clarification, it is possible that your request may 
exceed the cost threshold under the FoI Act, or that one or more of the exemptions under the FoI Act 
may apply. 
 
 


You may like to be aware that the DMO is responsible for the issuance of gilts in the UK, and they 
may be better placed to help you with some aspects of your request. You can visit the DMO website 
at: https://www.dmo.gov.uk/  
 
Alternatively, you may want to contact HMT directly. Their contact details are:  
 
Information Rights Unit 
HM Treasury 
1 Horse Guards Road 
London 
SW1A 2HQ  
United Kingdom 
   
Email:  xxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx 
Website: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-treasury  
 
Finally, the Office for National Statistics may also be of assistance. You can visit their website at: 
https://www.ons.gov.uk/  
 
Please note if we do not receive your clarification within the next 2 months, we will consider this 
request closed. 
 
Yours sincerely 
 
 
 
 
Marc Obiols 
Information Access Team 
 
Your right to complain under the FoI Act 
If you are unhappy with the Bank’s response, you may ask for that decision to be reviewed internally. Please note that this will 
be subject to the Bank having received your submission within two months of the date of this response.  In order to submit an 
internal review, please set out the grounds for your appeal and send it to Wendy Galvin, Information Access Team (TS-Mz), 
Communications Directorate, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH or by email to 
xxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xx for the attention of Wendy Galvin. 
 
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information 
Commissioner for a decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at The Information Commissioner’s Office, 
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.  
 
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