A debt issuance program is a detailed description of an issuer and of all the terms and conditions that apply to the issuer’s bonds that are included in the program. Debt issuance programs make it possible for issuers of bonds to bring together all their bond issues with a single prospectus, subject to not exceeding the overall limit set for the program. In addition, a debt issuance program simplifies the procedures and documentation required when new bonds are issued. Once a debt issuance program has been approved under the terms of the Prospectus Directive and has been registered on Oslo Børs or Oslo ABM, the issuer can issue new bonds to the market simply by publishing the details of the new bonds in a detailed description known as "Final Terms". The Prospectus Directive does not require separate approval of the Final Terms, so the issuer benefits from a streamlined process to list the new bonds.
Oslo Børs now offers registration of debt issuance programs for bonds. By registering a debt issuance program on a stock exchange, an issuer can bring together all the listings of its separate bond issues as part of the program and so reduce the number of rulebooks with which it must comply. This helps reduce the issuer’s administrative costs.
Registering a debt issuance program on Oslo Børs also gives issuers the opportunity to reduce their listing costs since the registration fee for a debt issuance program includes the listing fee for 3 bond issues, with reduced fees for any additional bonds issued under the terms of the program.
One of the reasons for an issuer to decide to register a debt issuance program is to meet investor requirements for its debt issuance program to be registered on a stock exchange. Issuers can also arrange a secondary registration of a debt issuance program on Oslo Børs.
A number of Norwegian issuers already use debt issuance programs, and over recent years several individual bond issues that are part of a debt issuance program have been admitted to listing on Oslo Børs and Oslo ABM.