Bonds on issue
Every government bond on issue, its rate and yearly cost, and what inflation-indexed bonds cost.
Bonds on issue
Government bonds are the government's main long-term borrowing. New Zealand Debt Management (NZDM) publishes every bond line on issue each month. At 30 September 2026 (published 1 October 2026), there were 19 lines, 15 nominal and 4 inflation-indexed, with a face value of $228.6 billion.[93][96] NZDM's sheet shows $350 million of each line issued to the Reserve Bank ($6.65 billion in all, including bonds on repo to the market). The other $221.9 billion are what NZDM calls "market bonds": bonds that can be traded.[96][94] Their holders include private investors, but also parts of the government, such as the Reserve Bank's own portfolio from its bond buying programme (NZDM's figures for September 2026 list $0.42 billion of "bonds sold by RBNZ").[95][71] NZDM's sheet does not split market bonds by holder.
The coupons on all 19 lines come to about $7.42 billion a year. That is not the full yearly cost, because inflation-indexed bonds also cost the rise in their principal (see below). Counting that, the bonds on issue cost about $8.21 billion a year: $6.72 billion of nominal coupons, $0.70 billion of inflation-indexed coupons and $0.79 billion of inflation indexation. That is 3.49% of the amount owed (nominal face value plus inflation-adjusted principal).[97][118] Parts may not add to totals because of rounding.
The average coupon on the 15 nominal lines, weighted by face value, is 3.21%. Across all 19 lines it is 3.17%, but inflation-indexed coupons are paid on top of inflation, so that figure mixes two kinds of rate.
The dashed line is the 4.99% nominal yield at the 29 October 2026 tender of the April 2037 bond, drawn against each coupon for comparison. It is the yield for one bond on one day. Inflation-indexed coupons are paid on top of inflation, so they are not directly comparable with it.[98]
$97.8 billion (43% of the face value on issue) falls due by the end of 2031.[93] Any new borrowing that replaces them will be priced at market rates at the time.
All 19 bond lines (table)
| Due | Coupon | Amount $m (face value) | Yearly cost $m |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Apr 2027[74] | 4.50% | 16,113 | 725 |
| 15 May 2028[75] | 0.25% | 15,420 | 39 |
| 20 Apr 2029[76] | 3.00% | 20,196 | 606 |
| 15 May 2030[77] | 4.50% | 20,225 | 910 |
| 20 Sep 2030 inflation-indexed[89] | 3.00% | 4,625 inflation-adjusted 6,462 | 388 coupon 194 + indexation 194 |
| 15 May 2031[78] | 1.50% | 21,209 | 318 |
| 15 May 2032[79] | 2.00% | 15,950 | 319 |
| 14 Apr 2033[80] | 3.50% | 17,484 | 612 |
| 15 May 2034[81] | 4.25% | 12,575 | 534 |
| 15 May 2035[82] | 4.50% | 16,000 | 720 |
| 20 Sep 2035 inflation-indexed[90] | 2.50% | 7,303 inflation-adjusted 10,047 | 554 coupon 251 + indexation 303 |
| 15 May 2036[83] | 4.25% | 16,975 | 721 |
| 15 Apr 2037[84] | 2.75% | 9,012 | 248 |
| 15 May 2038[85] | 4.75% | 7,350 | 349 |
| 20 Sep 2040 inflation-indexed[91] | 2.50% | 5,190 inflation-adjusted 7,066 | 389 coupon 177 + indexation 213 |
| 15 May 2041[86] | 1.75% | 7,369 | 129 |
| 20 Sep 2050 inflation-indexed[92] | 3.25% | 2,450 inflation-adjusted 2,526 | 158 coupon 82 + indexation 76 |
| 15 May 2051[87] | 2.75% | 7,650 | 210 |
| 15 May 2054[88] | 5.00% | 5,500 | 275 |
| All 19 lines | 3.17% weighted average coupon, all lines (nominal only 3.21%) | 228,596 | 8,206 |
Nominal bonds: yearly cost = face value × coupon. Inflation-indexed bonds: coupon × inflation-adjusted principal (after the 20 September 2026 coupon), plus the indexation added over the year to 20 September 2026 (next table). The weighted average coupon uses face value for every line. Amounts include bonds issued to the Reserve Bank.
What inflation-indexed bonds cost
An inflation-indexed bond's principal rises with consumer prices, and its coupon is paid on that higher principal. So its cost each year is the coupon on the adjusted principal plus the rise in principal, which is repaid when the bond falls due. The coupon alone understates the cost.
NZDM tracks the rise with an index ratio for each bond. Between 20 September 2025 and 20 September 2026 the ratios rose about 3.1%.[119][120][121][122] Applied to the face value of the four lines on issue at 30 September 2026, that rise comes to $0.79 billion over the year, on top of $0.70 billion of coupons. Together that is $1.49 billion, or 5.7% of their inflation-adjusted principal of $26.1 billion.[97][118]
| Due | Index ratio 2025 → 2026 | Coupons $m | Indexation $m | Total $m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2030 coupon 3.00% | 135.51 → 139.71 | 194 | 194 | 388 |
| Sep 2035 coupon 2.50% | 133.43 → 137.58 | 251 | 303 | 554 |
| Sep 2040 coupon 2.50% | 132.04 → 136.14 | 177 | 213 | 389 |
| Sep 2050 coupon 3.25% | 100.00 → 103.11 | 82 | 76 | 158 |
| All four | 704 | 786 | 1,490 |
Index ratios are on 20 September of each year. Indexation over the year = face value (in the bonds table above) × (index ratio on 20 September 2026 − index ratio on 20 September 2025) ÷ 100. NZDM's sheet for the September 2050 bond starts on 20 December 2025 at 100.74, after a first quarterly factor of 0.74, so this page uses 100 as its ratio on 20 September 2025, before any indexation.[122] This uses the past year's inflation; future years depend on future inflation. Coupons use principal after the 20 September 2026 coupon.
The coupon is not the yield
The coupon is the fixed interest a bond pays on its face value. The yield is the return for the price paid. When more of an existing line is sold, it keeps its coupon but sells at a price that reflects market rates. For example, the April 2037 bond has a 2.75% coupon but sold at a 4.99% yield on 29 October 2026.[84][98]
The yearly cost of $8.21 billion worked out here (3.49% of the amount owed) differs from the interest in the accounts. For 2025/26 the accounts show interest expense on government bonds of $6.49 billion (whole Crown), about 3.9% of the average value of bonds in the accounts (see interest rates).[20] These are different measures. They differ because:
- they cover different things: a full year to 30 June 2026, against the bonds on issue at 30 September 2026 and inflation over the year to 20 September 2026;
- the accounts measure bonds at amortised cost, which spreads any difference between the sale price and face value over the bond's life;[22]
- the accounts are for the whole Crown, and the bond list includes bonds held by parts of the government, such as the Reserve Bank.
The face value here ($228.6 billion at 30 September 2026) is also not the same as the $177.1 billion carrying value of government bonds in the accounts at 30 June 2026.[19] How it adds up sets out how NZDM's figures relate to the accounts.
Source copies: NZDM's workbooks could not be downloaded automatically for this page, because the site refused the request. A person working on the project downloaded them through a normal web browser on 30 October 2026 (New Zealand time). The figures were read from those copies.