Understanding Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund Bills & Notes — Liquidity Flow Analysis

Introduction This page compiles the expected liquidity flows between Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) Exchange Fund Bills and Notes (EFBNs) and the Aggregate Balance. The data aims to give readers a sense of how much of the outstanding EFBNs are maturing each month, and how much the HKMA plans to issue in new securities to absorb the resulting liquidity flowing back into the banking system. Estimates of these liquidity flows can provide a lens into the HKMA’s liquidity management practices. The Net Injection or Absorption figures shown below should also carry some predictive power over the “Interest Payment/Issuance of Exchange Fund Bills and Notes” line item shown in the HKMA’s Daily Monetary Statistics on the corresponding date. The data in this page are updated monthly. April 2026 Date Type Estimated Maturing EFBNs***(HK$ Mn) Issuance — Tentative Schedule*(HK$ Mn) Estimated Net Injection / (Absorption)†(HK$ Mn) Issuance After Interest Discount**(HK$ Mn) Confirmed Net Injection / (Absorption)(HK$ Mn) 22 Apr Bills 77,020 77,020 0 N/A N/A 15 Apr Bills 88,007 88,007 0 N/A N/A 08 Apr Bills 92,896 92,896 0 N/A N/A 01 Apr Bills 89,030 89,030 0 N/A N/A Issue Numbers of Maturing EFBNs — 22 Apr: H2572, Q2603 | 15 Apr: H2571, Q2602 | 08 Apr: Y2588, H2570, Q2601 | 01 Apr: H2569, Q2553 March 2026 Date Type Estimated Maturing EFBNs***(HK$ Mn) Issuance — Tentative Schedule*(HK$ Mn) Estimated Net Injection / (Absorption)†(HK$ Mn) Adjusted Issuance††(HK$ Mn) Issuance After Interest Discount**(HK$ Mn) Confirmed Net Injection / (Absorption)(HK$ Mn) 25 Mar Bills 79,984 79,370 (458) 80,442 79,981 3 18 Mar Bills 77,171 76,580 (543) 77,714 77,256 (85) 11 Mar Bills 82,445 81,880 (526) 82,971 82,429 16 04 Mar Bills 81,519 80,836 (600) 82,119 81,593 (74) Issue Numbers of Maturing EFBNs — 25 Mar: H2568, Q2552 | 18 Mar: H2567, Q2551 | 11 Mar: Y2587, H2566, Q2550 | 04 Mar: H2565, Q2549 * Tentative Schedule shows the issuance amounts indicated in the quarterly schedule published by HKMA before the quarter begins. ** Confirmed Issuance shows the discounted settlement amount HKMA received on the tender date. *** Estimated Maturing EFBNs are based on publicly held amounts as of the maturity date. † Estimated Net = Estimated Maturing − Adjusted Issuance (where available), otherwise Estimated Maturing − Tentative Schedule. †† Adjusted Issuance is the face value amount on offer published in the weekly tender notice, which may differ from the tentative schedule. Confirmed Net = Estimated Maturing − Confirmed Issuance (available only after tender date). What Are Exchange Fund Bills & Notes (EFBNs)? Exchange Fund Bills and Notes are debt securities issued by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) to manage liquidity in Hong Kong’s banking system. It is a key tool for controlling how much cash is available in the banking system. Exchange Fund Bills (EFBs): Short-term securities (91 days, 182 days, or 364 days) Sold at a discount to face value (the difference is the yield) No interest payments Exchange Fund Notes (EFNs): Longer-term securities (2, 5, 10, or 15 years) Pay semi-annual interest (coupon payments) Return principal at maturity Why Do EFBNs Liquidity Flow Matters? Every EFBN transaction affects the Aggregate Balance – the total amount of money in Hong Kong banks’ clearing accounts with the HKMA. This is essentially the banking system’s interest paying “liquidity pool.” The Cash Flow Mechanics: When EFBNs are issued: Banks buy securities from HKMA Money flows OUT of the Aggregate Balance Result: Less liquidity in the banking system When EFBNs mature or pay coupons: HKMA pays banks back (principal + interest) Money flows INTO the Aggregate Balance Result: More liquidity in the banking system The HKMA’s Quarterly Tentative Schedule The Scheduled Issuance figures in this table come from the quarterly tentative issuance schedule published by the HKMA at the start of each quarter. This schedule outlines the planned face value of Exchange Fund Bills to be issued on each upcoming tender date, giving banks and market participants advance visibility into the HKMA’s liquidity management intentions. However, as the name suggests, the schedule is tentative — the HKMA usually adjusts issuance amounts based on prevailing market conditions. Bills Are Issued at a Discount — and That Difference Matters When the HKMA issues Exchange Fund Bills, banks do not pay the full face value upfront. Instead, bills are sold at a discounted price — known as the settlement amount — which is slightly less than the face value. The difference represents the interest earned by the banks over the life of the bill. When the bill matures, the HKMA returns the full face value. This discount mechanism means the Scheduled Issuance and Confirmed Issuance figures in the table will almost never be identical. The quarterly tentative schedule published by HKMA states the face value of bills planned for each issuance date. However, the actual amount collected at the tender — the Confirmed Issuance — reflects the discounted settlement price determined by prevailing market interest rates on that day. When rates are higher, the discount is larger, and the settlement amount collected will be noticeably lower than the scheduled face value. When rates fall, the gap narrows. This is why comparing Scheduled and Confirmed Issuance figures reveals how market conditions shifted between when the schedule was published and when the actual tender took place. Understanding the Net Flows: Net flow measures whether EFBN activity is injecting or absorbing liquidity from Hong Kong’s banking system on a given day: Net Flow = Maturities − Issuances A positive result means more cash is being returned to banks than collected — a liquidity injection that increases the Aggregate Balance; A negative figure means more is being collected than returned — an absorption that reduces it. This table presents two versions of this calculation. The Estimated Net is calculated using the HKMA’s scheduled face value figures and serves as a forward-looking indicator before tender results are available. The Confirmed Net uses the actual settlement amount collected at tender, making it a more precise backward-looking measure once a tender has taken place. Because bills are issued at a discount, these two figures will generally differ even when the HKMA rolls over the full scheduled amount. Previous Data ↓ Click to open full table for each month↓ February 2026 Date Type Estimated Maturing EFBNs***(HK$ Mn) Scheduled Issuance*(HK$ Mn) Estimated Net Injection / (Absorption)†(HK$ Mn) Confirmed Issuance**(HK$ Mn) Confirmed Net Injection / (Absorption)(HK$ Mn) 25 Feb Bills 81,499 81,198 301 82,136 (637) 23 Feb Notes 1,200 1,200 0 1,200 0 23 Feb Coupons 31 N/A 31 N/A 31 20 Feb Bills 80,118 80,118 0 80,204 (86) 19 Feb Coupons 17 N/A 17 N/A 17 18 Feb Coupons 20 N/A 20 N/A 20 11 Feb Bills 84,365 84,365 0 84,264 101 04 Feb Bills 77,730 77,730 0 77,754 (24) Maturing Issue Numbers — 25 Feb: H2564, Q2548 | 23 Feb: 02Y2602 | 20 Feb: H2563, Q2547 | 11 Feb: Y2586, H2562, Q2546 | 04 Feb: H2561, Q2545 January 2026 Date Type Scheduled Issuance*(HK$ Mn) Confirmed Issuance(HK$ Mn) Maturing EFBNs(HK$ Mn) Net Injection / (Absorption)(HK$ Mn) Issue Number for Maturing EFBNs 28 Jan Bills 78,315 78,307 78,315 8 H2560, Q2544 21 Jan Bills 76,883 77,105 76,883 (222) H2559, Q2543 14 Jan Bills 93,146 93,070 93,146 76 Y2585, H2558, Q2542 07 Jan Bills 89,060 89,035 89,060 25 H2557, Q2541 *Scheduled Issuance comprises of issuance amounts indicated in this quarterly tentative schedule published by HKMA. **Confirmed Issuance shows the discounted amount the HKMA received through issuing the bills and notes on the tender date. ***Positive Net Flow indicates liquidity injection into the Aggregate Balance; Negative indicates absorption. About This Data This table is updated regularly using official HKMA data sources: Daily tender results announcements Tentative issuance schedules Historical liquidity statistics The data helps track Hong Kong’s monetary operations and their real-time impact on banking system liquidity.