The theory of public debt is inextricably linked with the theory state budget and uses a number of basic budget concepts, which are fundamental when considering public debt.
Before the entry into force of the Budget Code Russian Federation The legislative basis in the field of public debt management was formed by two main laws: "On the State Internal Debt of the Russian Federation" dated November 13, 1992 No. 3877-1 and "On State External Borrowings of the Russian Federation and State Loans Provided by the Russian Federation to Foreign States, Their Legal Entities and international organizations" of December 17, 1994 No. 76-FZ.
In the scientific literature, public debt is determined by the amount of the federal budget deficit that has developed by a given date, minus the positive balance (surplus) of this budget. And also, they also distinguish the concept of "nationwide debt", which is a set of debt obligations of all authorities at various levels (the Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities).
In practice, public debt is considered debentures Russia to individuals and legal entities, foreign states, international organizations and other subjects of international law, including obligations under state guarantees provided by the Russian Federation.
The following wording is more in line with the definitions of external debt accepted in international practice: "The state external borrowings of the Russian Federation are attracted from foreign sources ( foreign countries, their legal entities and international organizations) credits (loans) on which state financial obligations Russian Federation as a borrower financial resources or a guarantor of repayment of such credits (loans) by other borrowers. State external borrowings of the Russian Federation form the state external debt RF".
Debt obligations are a complex category that differs, firstly, in the form of formation and service; secondly, on the objects of debt relations; thirdly, on the terms of obligations. The main forms of debt obligations of the Russian Federation (Article 98 of the Budget Code of the Russian Federation) are as follows: loan agreements and contracts; government securities; agreements on the provision of guarantees by the Russian Federation, agreements of guarantors of the Russian Federation; re-formalized debt obligations of third parties into the public debt of the Russian Federation; agreements and treaties of the Russian Federation on the prolongation and restructuring of debt obligations. In terms of time, the following are distinguished: short-term (up to 1 year); medium-term (over 1 year to 5 years); long-term (over 5 years to 30 years) liabilities. Changing the terms of the issued state loan, including the terms of payment and the amount of interest payments, the circulation period, is not allowed.
According to the Budget Code of the Russian Federation, external debt is an obligation arising in foreign currency. State internal debt refers to debt obligations of the federal government arising in the currency of the Russian Federation. The debt obligations of the federal government are secured by all the assets at its disposal.
When defining total (internal and external) public debt, the following terminology is used. Capital debt is the sum of debt obligations issued and outstanding by the state and obligations of other persons guaranteed by it, including accrued interest on these obligations. Principal debt is the nominal value of all debt obligations of the state and borrowings guaranteed by it.
The legal foundations of the system of state loans are laid down in the Constitution and the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The powers of the Government of the Russian Federation on issues of public debt management were determined by the Federal Constitutional Law of December 17, 1997 No. 2-FKZ "On the Government of the Russian Federation" (with amendments and additions).
Control of the state of the state internal and external debt and the use of credit resources is assigned to Accounts Chamber RF.
Servicing the public debt is expressed in the implementation of operations for the placement of debt obligations, their repayment and payment of interest on them. These functions are carried out by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. The costs of servicing the public debt are made at the expense of the budget of the Russian Federation.
State debt Russia can be in the form:
Russia of the past.
Servicing the public debt is associated with the redistribution of income in the country. To pay off the debt, you can use the assets available to the state by privatizing state property. Another approach is to increase budget revenues by expanding the tax base. The burden of care is shifted to taxpayers. Another source of debt repayment can be loans from the Central Bank. However, in the conditions of the country's main bank independent of the government, it is very difficult to use the issue to reduce debt. Servicing the external debt actually means the legal export of capital, which is reflected in a separate line in the balance of payments, that is, it leads to the redistribution of part of the national income through the fiscal and monetary system for the benefit of non-residents.
Financing the budget deficit from domestic sources also does not always contribute to development national economy. An increase in domestic debt means an increase in the share of government borrowing by financial market. This may lead to competition for resources in the domestic financial market, growth interest rates and a decrease in the capitalization of the private securities market. In addition, investments are being reduced, as they will remain unrealized investment projects with a profitability not exceeding the interest paid on state securities along with a risk premium.
The main benefit for the state, which justifies the usefulness of public debt, is the ability to attract borrowed funds to the budget and at the same time maintain the relative amount of debt - as a percentage of GDP (for a certain period of time, for the economic cycle) .
The size of the budget balance and the volume of real gross domestic product - two the most important factors that determine the dynamics of debt. A budget deficit leads to an increase in the amount of public debt, a budget surplus allows you to repay the debt. Economic growth ensures the filling of the revenue side of the budget, which pays interest on the debt. It also allows you to increase money supply in circulation without an increase in inflation, and due to the growth of the money supply, conditions for debt refinancing are created. Depending on the ratio of these two factors, two approaches to determining the role of public debt in a market economy are conditionally distinguished.
Classic approach to determine the role of public debt in the economy is to use government loans as a substitute (substitute) for tax revenues. This approach is associated with the attitude to the public debt as an instrument of stabilization macroeconomic policy.
In the phase of slowdown in business activity, revenues to the budget are reduced. The government is interested in maintaining the level of spending, so the question arises of compensating for the decline in budget revenues. With a decrease in business activity of economic entities, an increase tax rates reinforces negative trends in the economy, so it is advisable to compensate for the decline in budget revenues through government loans. The public debt becomes a substitute for tax revenues.
Public debt can successfully serve as a macroeconomic stabilizer only under the condition of sustainable economic growth. The phase of sustainable economic growth consists of alternating periods of increase and decrease in business activity of economic entities. During the period of business activity decline, it is advisable to lower the level of taxes and compensate for the decline in revenues with borrowed funds.
concept "decline in business activity" means a short-term reduction in the rate economic development, but at the same time, real GDP growth should exceed 1% per year. If the growth rate of real GDP is less than 1%, then this means that there is an economic recession (It is accompanied by the bankruptcy of large companies, the deterioration of the banking system, rising unemployment, and a decrease in consumption).
During a period of economic recession, it is advisable to reduce the amount of public debt, since in this case, public debt has a significant negative impact on both public finances and the economy as a whole.
Classic approach To determine the role of public debt in the economy is to use it as a substitute for taxes and lies in the fact that the volume of government loans is increased in the phase of declining business activity. In the phase of increasing business activity, the volume of loans is reduced. In the phase of the economic recession and in the period preceding the economic recession, the volume of loans is minimized or the public debt is repaid ahead of schedule.
The classical approach gives the government the opportunity not to change the level of taxation or even slightly reduce it in the phase of declining business activity, but at the same time maintain the level public spending. This is the advantage of the classical approach.
Alternative approach is based on the exact opposite concept - in the phase of declining business activity, the volume of loans is reduced. In the phase of increasing business activity, the volume of loans is increased. In the phase of the economic recession and in the period preceding the economic recession, the volume of loans is minimized or the public debt is repaid ahead of schedule.
This approach has its rational grain. Such a paradoxical scheme has a number of advantages over the classical one. Firstly, An alternative approach, other things being equal, allows attracting a larger amount of monetary resources to the budget over the economic cycle. Secondly, when it is implemented, a lower amplitude of fluctuations in the relative amount of debt is observed during business cycle. The maximum value of the relative amount of debt for the period of the economic cycle is less. Thirdly, the decision on the optimal amount of government loans is made on the basis of data on the pace of economic development: the economy has entered a phase of increased business activity - increased loans, a decline in business activity - reduced loans, an economic recession - minimized loans. The risk of erroneous planning of the budget balance in this case is significantly lower.
Within the framework of the considered approach, the public debt plays the role of a financial mechanism, accelerating economic development.. Public debt can only be useful in a period of sustainable economic growth. In the phase of economic recession, the budget deficit significantly worsens the state of public finances, increases the risk of a debt crisis, and thus leads to a deterioration in the overall state of the economy. For China, public debt is financial mechanism acceleration of economic development. For Russia, the public debt remains economic problem and does not bring any benefits to the state economy.
Two approaches (classical and alternative) are based on different meanings attached to the concept of "balanced" budget. In the European Community, the budget is recognized as balanced if two restrictions are met - on the size of the deficit (3% of GDP) and on the amount of debt (60% of GDP). Economic growth is impossible without an increase in energy consumption, which means that it is necessary to build new power plants, pull oil pipelines, build ports, roads and other infrastructure. The issues of supporting economic growth are not simple in themselves, they have to be solved in the conditions of international competition for resources, for the conditions of international trade.
Public debt is the sum of government budget deficits over a given period of time. This is the economic definition of government debt. The Budget Code provides a legal definition of this concept as debt obligations of the Russian Federation to legal entities and individuals, foreign states, international organizations and other subjects of international law.
The main reasons for the formation of public debt are the state budget deficit and the availability of free Money from individuals and legal entities.
Government debt obligations can exist in various forms:
credit agreements and treaties of the Russian Federation with credit institutions, foreign states and international financial organizations in favor of these loans;
government securities issued on behalf of the Russian Federation;
agreements on the provision of state guarantees of the Russian Federation, surety agreements for securing obligations by third parties;
re-registration of debt obligations of third parties into the state debt of the Russian Federation on the basis of federal laws;
agreements and treaties of the Russian Federation on the prolongation and restructuring of debt obligations of the Russian Federation of previous years.
Public debt can be classified according to different criteria. According to the currency criterion, it is divided into internal and external: ruble debts are classified as internal debt, and foreign currency debts are classified as external. In international practice, there is another definition of external debt: total debt to non-residents, and internal debt - as total debt to residents.
Public debt is divided into capital and current. Capital debt is the sum of debt issued and outstanding
states, including interest. Current debt is the cost of paying income and repaying liabilities.
By maturity, government debt obligations can be short-term (up to 1 year), medium-term (from 1 to 5 years), long-term (from 5 to 30 years). Debt obligations cannot exceed a period of 30 years.
According to the level of management, the public debt is divided into the public debt of the Russian Federation, the public debt of the subject of the Russian Federation and the municipal public debt. Russia is not responsible for the debt obligations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
The size and structure of the state internal debt are given in the Program of State Internal Borrowings of the Russian Federation, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities. The program is one of the documents submitted simultaneously with the draft budget for the next fiscal year.
Limiting volumes of internal debt are approved by the law on the budget for the corresponding financial year (federal law, law of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation or local authority). The limit may be exceeded by the Government of the Russian Federation if this reduces the cost of servicing the public debt. The budget law also approves the maximum amount of borrowed funds directed by the Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation or municipalities to finance the budget deficit of the corresponding level. For a subject of the Russian Federation, this limit should not exceed 30% of budget revenues for the current financial year, excluding financial assistance from the federal budget and borrowed funds attracted in the current year. For municipalities, it should not exceed 15% of local budget revenues, excluding financial assistance from the federal budget and the budget of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, borrowed funds attracted in the current year. size limit the cost of servicing the state debt of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or municipal debt should not exceed 15% of the volume of budget expenditures of the corresponding level. If these costs are more than 15%, then the following sanctions may be applied:
revision of the budget of the subject of the Russian Federation;
transfer of the execution of the budget of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation under the control of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation or the local budget under the control of the body executing the budget of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation;
other measures.
The Russian Federation has a unified system of accounting and registration of public debt. Subjects of the Russian Federation and municipalities register their debt obligations with the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, which maintains the State Debt Book of the Russian Federation.
Domestic debt obligations can be divided into two groups:
market, existing in the form of issuance securities (GKO, OFZ, OGSZ, etc.);
non-market, issued to finance the resulting budget debt (bills of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, debt to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, etc.).
The rapid growth of public domestic debt has led to the fact that debt service costs have exceeded the income from the placement of government securities. Therefore, measures were taken to reduce these costs, namely:
on the Russian market securities were admitted to non-residents (to purchase government securities, they were allowed to open accounts of type "C");
the issue of non-market loans and gold certificates began;
the issuance of Eurobonds began, which made it possible to transfer domestic debt to external debt. The cost of servicing external debt is less than domestic debt, borrowing abroad in the worst case costs 25% per annum. However, the aggravation of the financial crisis made adjustments to these plans.
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The debt obligations of the Russian Federation may exist in the form of:
1. loan agreements and contracts concluded on behalf of the Russian Federation with credit institutions, foreign states and international financial organizations in favor of the said creditors;
2. government securities issued on behalf of the Russian Federation;
3. agreements on the provision of state guarantees of the Russian Federation, agreements on the surety of the Russian Federation to ensure the fulfillment of obligations by third parties;
4. re-registration of debt obligations of third parties into the state debt of the Russian Federation on the basis of adopted federal laws;
5. agreements and agreements, including international ones, concluded on behalf of the Russian Federation, on the prolongation and restructuring of the debt obligations of the Russian Federation of previous years.
The debt obligations of the Russian Federation may be short-term (up to one year), medium-term (from one year to five years) and long-term (from five to 30 years). Debt obligations are repaid in terms that are determined by the specific terms of the loan. For debt obligations of the Russian Federation and its constituent entities, the maturity period cannot exceed 30 years, and for obligations of a municipality - 10 years.
In such forms, there may be debt obligations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities, with the exception of international agreements and treaties at the level of the municipality. All of the mentioned forms are used quite actively in market practice.
Credit agreements and contracts in system state loan are concluded primarily with credit organizations of various kinds, as a rule, commercial banks. Their services are most often resorted to by the subjects of the Federation and municipalities. Traditionally, loans to the Government of the Russian Federation were provided by the Central Bank, which used its own funds as credit resources, reserve funds banks, as well as deposits of the population in institutions of the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation in the amounts determined by annual agreements. However, with the adoption new edition Federal Law of April 26, 1995 No. 65-FZ "On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)", central bank is not entitled to provide loans to finance state and local budgets, as well as the budgets of state off-budget funds.
That is, obligations issued on behalf of the state or guaranteed by it, in an economically developed countries are the main source of public debt. The issuance of government securities in unpaid domestic debt fluctuates different countries from 20 to 90%: in Germany they reach 40%, in the USA - 70, in Great Britain - 90%. In Russia, debt obligations in the form of securities accounted for 93% of all domestic debt in 2000.
The world government securities market is quite diverse and includes bonds, treasury bills, treasury notes, etc. The most common type of government securities - bonds.
Bond(from Latin obligatio - obligation) is a debt security, an obligation confirming the loan relationship between the investor and the issuer, according to which the issuer (borrower) guarantees the investor (creditor) the payment of the principal amount of the debt after a specified period, as well as interest on the loan.
Government bonds are usually issued for long term, and they can be regarded as a special form of investment. They are recognized as the most reliable and liquid, since they are provided with financial and other state resources. This is not hindered even by the fact that the interest rate on government securities is usually lower than on securities of other issuers. In terms of reliability, government bonds and bonds guaranteed by them are in the first place, and only then municipal bonds, bonds of joint-stock companies follow.
Bond loans are classified according to various criteria:
1) by type of issue - bearer and registered (bonds of state and municipal loans are issued, as a rule, to bearer, which simplifies their circulation);
2) by type of income payments - for interest-bearing and interest-free bonds. At the same time, income can either be paid in the form of winnings, or not paid at all, but guarantees the receipt of a certain product or service (for example, on targeted loans - telephone, housing, etc.);
3) by the nature of circulation - for bonds freely circulating on the market (market) and with a limited range of circulation (non-market). Marketable securities are freely circulating and can be resold to other entities, non-marketable securities cannot be freely transferred from one owner to another (for example, savings bonds, individual pension bonds are distributed only among the population and are not subject to resale);
4) by the nature of the holders of securities - for those sold only among the population, among legal entities and universal, i.e. intended for placement among individuals and legal entities; there are bonds of "special loans" intended for placement in insurance and pension funds, government agencies, they do not have free circulation and can be presented for payment after a certain time (usually one year) from the date of their release;
5) by maturity - for short-term (maturity up to one year); medium-term (up to five years) and long-term (over five years); there are perpetual or annuity bonds, in respect of which the maturity is not determined, and their owner receives interest as long as he holds them;
6) by placement methods - voluntary, placed by subscription and forced. Bonds of voluntary loans are freely sold and bought on the stock market. Forced loans are placed in accordance with government decree and provide for liability for evasion of subscription;
7) according to a material carrier, they can be in documentary and non-documentary form (in the form of entries on accounts);
8) depending on the issuer - bonds issued by the central government, subjects of the Federation and local authorities.
Municipal securities are issued by local authorities and are equal in status to government securities along with sub-federal obligations. Municipal bonds are of two types: general debt and income. For general debt bonds, interest and redemption are secured by the collection of local taxes. Their purpose is to finance the construction of municipal hospitals and schools. Income bonds are covered by income from those objects for the construction of which they were issued - flyovers, bridges, residential buildings etc. For investors, this is a more attractive financial instrument.
treasury bill- the main type of short-term government obligations, usually issued for a period of 3, 6, and 12 months (in the US, for example, they are issued for a period of several weeks to a year). Issue and redemption are carried out by the central bank on behalf of the Treasury or the Ministry of Finance. They are usually sold at a discount and are a highly liquid financial instrument.
Treasury notes- mid-term market securities. Issued by the Ministry of Finance or special state financial bodies.
A special place in the system of state loans is occupied by federal government guaranteed securities . In this case, the issuer is the structures supported by the government. Examples of such securities are farm credit bonds and federal bank bonds. home loan in the USA, bonds of the federal post office and bonds of the federal railway in Germany, bonds of the Russian joint-stock company"High-speed highways" (RAO "VSM"), etc.
Government securities occupy a certain place in the market financial assets and play a special role in social production. First of all, they perform fiscal and economic function. The fiscal function is to mobilize temporarily free funds of legal and individuals(commercial banks and non-banking financial and credit institutions, enterprises, population, etc.) and their concentration in the hands of the state. The fiscal function determines the economic function - the resources attracted by the state allow it to solve current and future tasks (tasks of the country's social and economic development, reducing the budget deficit, etc.).
Government securities- the most important financial instrument market economy. Their role has fundamentally changed in the course of the development of society. Initially, government securities were used primarily to cover budget deficit caused by extraordinary expenses associated with wars, natural disasters and other similar events. Gradually, their release acquires an economic orientation and they begin to play a significant role in the state regulation of the national economy and money circulation. Thus, Russia issued its first government securities in 1769 to cover the costs of the war with Turkey. Then, more and more often, government securities (government loans) were issued for investment needs - the development of production, infrastructure (for example, construction railways), solving problems of urban economy.
In a market economy, government securities are becoming the most important financial instrument: they are the most civilized market way the formation of public debt; through government securities money-credit policy, the impact on macroeconomic processes is carried out. So, with the help of open market operations, i.e. purchase and sale of government securities, the country's Central Bank regulates the money supply in circulation. To increase the money supply, the financial capacity of commercial banks, the Central Bank buys government securities from them; on the contrary, when there is a surplus of the money supply, an increase in the balances on the accounts of commercial banks, the Central Bank “throws out” government securities on the market in order to “bind” the excess money supply. Operations with government securities also provide liquidity to the assets of commercial banks and other credit and financial institutions.
Government securities act as an object of collateral relations, i.e. are used as collateral for a loan provided by the Central Bank to the government, for loans Central Bank commercial banks and on loans provided to enterprises by commercial banks.
This is a unique tool for organizing government loans, when the borrower himself determines the conditions and technology of the loan. With the help of government securities, debt repayment on government loans is also carried out - the so-called debt restructuring. But this holds the possibility financial pyramid, "debt hole". The most preferable and promising in this regard, including from the investor's point of view, are investment loans.
Government securities largely determine the state stock market, rates of securities of other issuers, therefore they are often considered as a barometer of changes in the economic and political life of the country.
At the same time, government securities, according to a number of experts, have a number of disadvantages: they “pull” funds from the credit market; contain the possibility of forced placement of loans (for example, Russian loans military times); in the case of an unregulated market, they can provoke the creation of financial pyramids.
In the Russian Federation, the procedure for issuing state and municipal loans is regulated federal law dated April 22, 1996 No. 39-F3 "On the securities market" and Federal Law dated July 29, 1998 No. 136-FZ "On the features of the issue and circulation of state and municipal securities", as well as the relevant legislative acts of the subject of the Federation or municipal education.
State securities are those issued or guaranteed by the state. This determines not only their place and role in social production, but also the features of emission, circulation and regulation.
On behalf of the state by the issuer, i.e. the body issuing securities is usually an authorized body whose functions include the preparation and (or) execution of the federal budget; in Russia it is the Ministry of Finance. Issuers of securities of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and municipalities are the relevant bodies of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation and local self-government.
The Central Bank often acts as an agent of the Ministry of Finance, which, in turn, may authorize certain investment institutions or banks to act as official dealers or market makers of a particular issue of government securities. It, or, at its discretion, another authorized organization performs the functions of a depository, including the function of storing a global certificate for the issue of federal loan bonds, and keeps records of the rights of various organizations to these bonds. Functions of a sub-custodian for these bonds may be performed by authorized organizations. They keep records of the rights to federal loan bonds on deposit accounts of depositors (investors).
Bonds of internal government loans are distributed, as a rule, through the institutions of the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation, and local loans - also through stock exchanges.
Conducting functions public policy The Russian Federation in the field of the securities market, control over the activities of its professional participants through the determination of the procedure for their activities, as well as to determine the standards for the issue of securities, carries out Federal Commission on the securities market.
The following types of main federal debt obligations can be distinguished::
1. federal loan bonds with a constant coupon income (OFZ - PD) have a maturity of 3 years and a zero coupon; can be used in accordance with the established procedure for operations to pay off overdue tax debts in federal budget, including fines and penalties, formed as of July 1, 1998, as well as for the purpose of paying for participation in the authorized capital of credit institutions;
2. federal loan bonds with a fixed coupon income (OFZ - FD) with a circulation period of 4 and 5 years are issued in twelve equal tranches with the accrual of interest income starting from August 19, 1998.
3. Government short-term bonds (GKO) with maturities of 3, 6 and 12 months. Issued on a paperless basis in the form of records on depo accounts. The bonds have no coupons. Placed at auctions at a discount from face value;
4. bonds of the state savings loan (OGSS) with a maturity of 1 year;
5. bonds of the state non-market loan (OGNZ); issued in non-documentary form; income is paid as a percentage of the nominal value, which is established by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation when issuing bonds, but at least once a year;
6. state housing certificates(GZhS); are documentary registered non-tradable securities and are issued by decision of the Government of the Russian Federation for citizens of the Russian Federation who have lost their homes as a result of emergencies and natural disasters. Nominated in square meters living area. The maturity date is 1 year from the date of issue;
7. government long-term bonds (GDO). Issued on July 1, 1991 with a circulation period of 30 years, i.e. until July 1, 2021. Issued in blank form with a set of coupons; coupon yield -15% of the face value of the bond, paid once a year - on July 1;
8. domestic bonds currency loan(OVVZ). Issued in 1993 to pay off the debt of the Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs of the USSR to legal entities. The loan currency is US dollars.
In the future, the federal loan market will develop in the direction of improving and expanding borrowing instruments in the direction of lengthening the terms and reducing the cost of loans, attracting new categories of investors. In June 2001, the RF Ministry of Finance issued government securities maturing in 2004. These bonds will have four coupons per year and will bear higher interest rates than the GKOs currently in circulation.
Thus, bonded borrowings can be regarded as a real tool for financing federal, regional and municipal development, especially when strengthening their investment orientation. At the same time, one cannot ignore the existence of such a competitive financial instrument as a direct, real investment. It is necessary to find the optimal proportions in the use of all these tools to raise funds.
State guarantees and guarantees act as a special form of borrowing to ensure the fulfillment of obligations by third parties. Under the state or municipal guarantee in the Budget Code of the Russian Federation is recognized a method of securing civil obligations, by virtue of which the Russian Federation, its constituent entity or municipality, acting as a guarantor, gives a written obligation to be responsible for the fulfillment by the person - the recipient of the guarantee - of its obligations to third parties in full or partially. The recipients of state (municipal) guarantees are the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, municipalities, legal entities. The purpose of the guarantee is to ensure the fulfillment of the obligations of the recipients of the guarantee to third parties.
In this case, the guarantor bears subsidiary liability in addition to the liability of the debtor for the obligation guaranteed by him, and his obligation to a third party is limited only to the amount for which the guarantee was issued.
The total amount of guarantees provided is included in the composition of the state (municipal) debt of the corresponding level as a type of debt obligation. Depending on the currency in which government guarantees are provided, they are included in government internal or external debt. When the recipient of the guarantee fulfills his obligations to a third party, the guarantor's debt is reduced by the appropriate amount, which is reflected in the budget execution report.
State (municipal) guarantees are provided, as a rule, on a competitive basis, after verification financial condition, the recipient of the guarantee. The agreement on the provision of a guarantee specifies the obligation that it provides. The term of the guarantee is determined by the period of fulfillment of the obligations for which the guarantee is provided.
The law (decision) on the budget of the corresponding level for the next financial year establishes an upper limit total amount, state (municipal) guarantees, as well as a list of guarantees, the amount of which exceeds: one million minimum wages for state guarantees of the Russian Federation in the currency of the Russian Federation; 10 million US dollars under the state guarantees of the Russian Federation in order to secure obligations in foreign currency; 0.01% of budget expenditures of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or a municipality.
The specificity of this form financial relations is that the guarantees provided lead to an increase in potential or hidden debt. In this case, the debt arises not at the time of the provision of guarantees, but only in the event of non-payment. By giving guarantees, the state assumes the risk of non-repayment or untimely repayment of the entire (or part) of the amount and interest on it. In a favorable situation, the real amount of debt may not increase.
In world practice, the state guarantees loans to local governments, nationalized enterprises and corporations, specialized lending institutions, as well as bank loans intended for municipal housing construction, export credits and operations. In the latter case, the state takes on risks not only of an economic nature (delay in payment, insolvency of the debtor), but also of a political nature (non-payments as a result of a revolution, nationalization, etc.). Guarantees are a form state regulation in conditions of unstable economic conditions, intensified competition, therefore, operations of this kind are constantly expanding.
The activity of the Russian Federation as a guarantor is reduced to the following areas. First of all, the state traditionally acts as a guarantor of the population's deposits in savings bank. At the same time, the state guarantees the restoration and preservation of the monetary savings of citizens placed on deposits in the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation and in organizations state insurance Russian Federation on contractual (accumulative) deposits personal insurance in the period up to January 1, 1992. Such savings are recognized as the state internal debt of the Russian Federation. Restoration and preservation of the value of guaranteed savings is carried out by converting them into target debt obligations of the Russian Federation, which are government securities.
Re-registration of debt obligations of third parties into the state debt of the Russian Federation- Another form of government debt obligations, enshrined in the Budget Code of the Russian Federation.
1. Debt obligations of the Russian Federation may exist in the form of:
loan agreements and contracts concluded on behalf of the Russian Federation as a borrower with credit institutions, foreign states and international financial institutions;
government loans made by issuing securities on behalf of the Russian Federation;
contracts and agreements on the receipt by the Russian Federation of budget loans from the budgets of other levels of the budgetary system of the Russian Federation;
agreements on the provision by the Russian Federation of state guarantees;
agreements and contracts, including international ones, concluded on behalf of the Russian Federation, on the prolongation and restructuring of the debt obligations of the Russian Federation of previous years.
2. Debt obligations of the Russian Federation may be short-term (up to one year), medium-term (over one year up to five years) and long-term (over five years up to 30 years).
The debt obligations of the Russian Federation are repaid within the terms determined by the specific terms of the loan and cannot exceed 30 years.
Changing the terms of a state loan put into circulation, including the terms of repayment and the amount of interest payments, the term of circulation, is not allowed.
3. The volume of the state internal debt of the Russian Federation includes:
the principal nominal amount of debt on government securities of the Russian Federation;
the amount of principal debt on loans received by the Russian Federation;
the amount of principal debt on budget loans received by the Russian Federation from budgets of other levels;
the volume of obligations under state guarantees provided by the Russian Federation.
4. The volume of the state external debt of the Russian Federation includes:
the volume of obligations under state guarantees provided by the Russian Federation;
the amount of the principal debt on loans received by the Russian Federation from foreign governments, credit institutions, firms and international financial organizations.
Clause 1 of the commented article of the RF BC provides for five main forms of existence of the state debt (debt obligations) of the Russian Federation. This list is complete, but does not say anything about the inadmissibility of an extended interpretation. The legislator provided that the debt obligations of the Russian Federation may arise as a result of:
1) conclusion of loan agreements and agreements between the competent authorities of the Russian Federation, on the one hand, and credit institutions, foreign states or specialized international financial organizations (IBEC, IIB), on the other hand; in these contracts (agreements), the Russian Federation acts as a borrower of financial resources, and the contract (agreement) itself is concluded in favor of the creditor;
2) release into free or limited circulation of government securities. Government securities are subject to the Law on the Securities Market, art. 114 of the RF BC, however, there are certain features of the issue and circulation of state and municipal securities. These features are enshrined in the Law on the Features of the Issue and Circulation of State and Municipal Securities;
3) conclusion of loan agreements and agreements between federal authorities state authorities (representing the interests of the Russian Federation), on the one hand, and authorized state authorities of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or local governments, on the other hand; the content of this type of contracts (agreements) is the receipt of the Russian Federation for budget loans from budgets of lower levels - the budget of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or the local budget;
4) conclusion of agreements on the provision of state guarantees by the Russian Federation. In this case, the legislator does not directly indicate such a form of existence of the debt obligations of the Russian Federation as a guarantee agreement concluded by the Russian Federation in order to ensure the fulfillment of obligations by third parties. However, this form of public debt follows directly from the general provisions of civil and budgetary legislation;
5) the conclusion by the competent authorities of the Russian Federation of domestic or international treaties and agreements on prolongation or restructuring of debt obligations of previous years. According to the theory of public international law, prolongation is the extension of the term of a domestic or international treaty, provided that the original term of validity at the time of the prolongation has not yet expired. Restructuring of debt obligations is the termination or partial write-off (reduction) of the amount of debt obligations, achieved bilaterally.
In addition to the forms of existence of debt obligations of the Russian Federation, there are also types of public debt:
- internal and external;
- capital and current.
Capital public debt includes the entire amount of debt obligations accepted but not repaid by the Russian Federation, with interest accrued on the amount of debt. The current state debt implies the amount of expenditures made by the authorized federal bodies on debt obligations accepted by the Russian Federation, the due date for which has already come.
Clause 2 of the commented article of the RF BC distinguishes between the debt obligations of the Russian Federation depending on the period of their validity, i.e. deadline. By general rules three types of debt obligations of the Russian Federation are distinguished - short-term, medium-term and long-term, but in any case, the period of fulfillment of the debt obligation of the Russian Federation cannot exceed 30 years. In the event that under the conditions loan agreement(agreement) concluded by the Russian Federation provides for a period exceeding 30 years, then the maximum period of execution is applied - 30 years.
Loan conditions for a short-term, medium-term or long-term debt obligation of the Russian Federation in without fail are indicated in the text of the loan agreement (agreement), these conditions cannot contradict general provisions on the debt obligations of the Russian Federation, specified in Ch. 14 BC RF. The legislator specifically stipulates that the terms of the signed loan agreement (agreement) are binding on both parties and can only be changed by their mutual consent. Thus, a unilateral refusal to fulfill a debt obligation is not allowed.
Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the commented article of the RF BC, respectively, reveal the structural content of the state internal and state external debt of the Russian Federation, list their constituent elements. The state internal debt of the Russian Federation consists of four indicators, and the state external debt of the Russian Federation consists of two indicators. These lists are exhaustive. At the same time, the constituent elements of the state debt of the Russian Federation indicated in paragraphs 3, 4 of the commented article are directly related to the forms of existence of debt obligations.
§ Credit agreements and contracts concluded on behalf of the Russian Federation as a borrower with credit institutions, foreign states and international financial organizations;
§ State loans made by issuing securities on behalf of the Russian Federation;
§ Contracts and agreements for the RF to receive budgetary loans and budgetary credits from the budgets of other levels of the Russian budgetary system;
§ Agreement on the provision of state guarantees by the Russian Federation;
§ Agreements and treaties, including international ones, concluded on behalf of the Russian Federation on the prolongation and restructuring of Russia's debt obligations of previous years.
Servicing the public debt is associated with the redistribution of income in the country. To repay the debt, the assets available to the state can be used by privatizing state property. Another approach is to increase budget revenues by expanding the tax base. The burden of care is shifted to taxpayers. Central Bank loans can become another source of debt repayment.
However, in the conditions of the country's main bank independent of the government, it is very difficult to use the issue to reduce debt. External debt servicing actually means the legal export of capital, which is reflected in a separate line in the balance of payments, that is, it leads to the redistribution of part of the national income through the fiscal and monetary system in the interests of non-residents.
Financing the budget deficit from domestic sources also does not always contribute to the development of the national economy. An increase in domestic debt means an increase in the share of government borrowings in the financial market. This may lead to competition for resources in the domestic financial market, an increase in interest rates and a decrease in the capitalization of the private securities market. In addition, investments are being reduced, since investment projects with a profitability not exceeding the interest paid on government securities along with a risk premium will remain unrealized.
Public debt is associated with the redistribution of GNP and part of the national wealth to form additional state resources through borrowing money from individuals and institutions, as well as through loans from foreign states. Structurally, public debt includes:
§ financial debt
Monetary obligations of the state in connection with the loan of credit funds
§ administrative debt- debts on payments (for example, wage arrears).
Sometimes government debt may also include government debt obligations with guarantees (for example, financial guarantees to facilitate export-import activities).
The origin of credit funds allows us to consider them as internal and external debt of the state. The state creditors are:
§ non-banking sector (for example, the system social insurance)
§ foreign public and private organizations.
Public debt comes in two main forms:
§ Government securities liquid, anonymous, can be freely traded on the secondary market
§ Debts issued in the form of an entry in the accounts
Cannot be assigned or sold. In this form, as a rule, an insignificant part of the public debt is drawn up.
