BoE pauses APF gilt sales, keeping £120bn long-dated gilts on its balance sheet
On 17 September 2026 the Bank of England announced it will pause Asset Purchase Facility gilt sales and retain £120bn of its longest-dated gilts on the APF balance sheet, while reviewing a model of selling remaining long gilts to the Government ahead of a final decision.
The desk brief
On 17 September 2026 the Bank of England announced it will pause Asset Purchase Facility gilt sales and retain £120bn of its longest-dated gilts on the APF balance sheet, while reviewing a model of selling remaining long gilts to the Government ahead of a final decision.
Reducing official long-gilt supply lowers the UK risk-free anchor for long maturities and can ease term premia that ripple into global long-end curves. The effect will concentrate on long-dated, high-beta African USD eurobonds (e.g., Ghana, Zambia) whose fair value is sensitive to lower UK long yields; persistence depends on BoE follow-through and concurrent US Treasury yield moves.
BoE operational details by April 2027 and subsequent DMO financing remit decisions.
Sources & verification
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Public references supporting this brief.