Flanders’ guaranteed debt decreased by 239.47 million euros in 2023. At the end of the year, total guaranteed debt amounted to 11.308 billion euros, including 8.855 billion euros of consolidated guaranteed debt. The main reasons behind this decrease are:
- The reduced guaranteed debt of:
- Flemish Social Housing Company (VMSW) and Flemish Housing Fund (VWF) (-403 million euros in total)
- Lantis (-213.60 million euros)
- Flemish Infrastructure Fund for Person-related Matters (VIPA) (-132.19 million euros)
- Authorised credit institutions (-58 million euros)
- The increased guaranteed debt for:
- Incoming loans Indemnity Decree (+323.52 million euros)
- Gigarant NV (+255.20 million euros)
Guaranteed debt concerns debts of companies or institutions guaranteed by the Flemish government. It is not considered actual government debt. The debt will only constitute a burden for the government if the debtor is unable to meet its debt obligations.
- VIPA
- Lantis (Oosterweel project)
- DBFM Schools of Tomorrow
- Flemish Water Supply Company (De Watergroep)
- Social housing sector with VMSW and VWF as main actors
- Large, medium and small enterprises (through two subsidiaries of the Flemish Holding Company (PMV): PMV/z Guarantees and Gigarant NV)
At the end of 2023, 8.855 billion euros of Flanders’ guaranteed debt was already included in the consolidated debt. That means that only a limited part of the total guaranteed debt (2.453 billion euros) can be considered guaranteed debt in the narrow sense. In 2023, the non-consolidated guaranteed debt rose by 526.22 million euros, while the consolidated guaranteed debt decreased by 765.69 million euros.
Evolution of consolidated and non-consolidated guaranteed debt (2019-2023; in millions of euros)
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Total consolidated guaranteed debt | 10,594.81 | 10,309.78 | 10,180.99 | 9,620.66 | 8,854.97 |
| Total non-consolidated guaranteed debt | 1,759.87 | 1,985.86 | 2,138.39 | 1,926.81 | 2,453.03 |
| Total guaranteed debt | 12,354.68 | 12,295.64 | 12,319.38 | 11,547.47 | 11,308.00 |
In 2023, enforcements accounted for only 0.19% of the total outstanding guarantees. It mainly concerned PMV/z Guarantees, where 19.65 million euros of guarantees had been claimed. For most guaranteed entities the sum of the received recoveries and guarantee fees was also higher than the total enforced amount. Consequently, the overall balance was strongly positive and amounted to 5.02 million euros in 2023. Just as in 2021 and 2022, the guarantee provision turned out to be profitable.
The cost of guarantees (2022-2023; in millions of euros)
| Fees | Enforcements | Recoveries | Balance | |||||
| 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | |
| TOTAL | 15.44 | 18.59 | 15.78 | 21.06 | 7.09 | 7.49 | 6.75 | 5.02 |
The government budget however does contain an annual provision for expected enforcements, based on standardised provision of guarantees.
In 2023, almost all enforcements were related to economic guarantees. Those guarantees accounted for only 16.5% of the total Flemish guaranteed debt. Most of Flanders’ guaranteed debt (81.7%) is covered by assets. Therefore the risk is rather limited.
Relative importance of the various types of guarantees (status at 31/12/2023)
