Financial Repression Tracker

Rules that steer savings into government debt or hold returns below inflation, country by country.

Hold · Central bank financing

Maturity extension and Operation Twist

What it is
The central bank purchases longer-dated government bonds while selling or allowing shorter-dated holdings to mature, changing portfolio duration without necessarily expanding its balance sheet.
Why it counts
Removing long-term duration from the market compresses term premiums and cheapens long-term government finance.

When it was in force

  • United States: 2011 → 2012, historical
  • India: 2020, historical; the rule may be older than the cited document; its end is not documented

2 examples

  1. United States

    2011 → 2012Historical

    The Fed announced $400 billion of purchases of six-to-thirty-year Treasuries matched by sales of Treasuries with three years or less remaining.

    FOMC decision of 21 September 2011 establishing the Maturity Extension ProgramPrimary source
    “This program should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help make broader financial conditions more accommodative.”

    federalreserve.gov (opens in a new tab)Checked: quote matched on the page by script

    United States today: index 42.9

  2. India

    2020Historical

    The rule may be older than the cited document · Its end is not documented · As cited: November 2020 (documented operation)

    The RBI scheduled purchases of government bonds maturing in 2025-2030 and sales of bills maturing in 2021, for ₹10,000 crore on each side.

    RBI Press Release 2020-2021/627 of 12 November 2020, Special Open Market OperationsPrimary source
    “simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities under Open Market Operations (OMO)”

    rbi.org.in (opens in a new tab)Checked: quote matched on the page by script

    India today: index 60.6

Examples and their dates reviewed .

Further reading

7 more on central bank financing