The Ministry of Finance entered the fourth quarter with a plan to borrow 2.45 trillion rubles, but even that is no longer enough. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a decree allowing the department to exceed the legislative ceiling on the domestic debt by one trillion rubles. across the border We count by quarter: during the 9 months of 2026, 4.47 trillion rubles were raised through OFZs. with an annual limit of 6.47 trillion. The balance is 2 trillion. The plan for the fourth quarter is 2.45 trillion. The cash gap between what is allowed and what is needed is at least 450 billion rubles. The additional trillion is room for maneuver in case the OFZ market in November-December turns out to be less generous than in the second quarter, when almost 1.7 trillion rubles could be placed. within 3 months. The main problem here is the price. At the current central bank rate, each new trillion rubles of debt generates tens of billions of rubles in annual interest expense - forever (well, until maturity). Governments advance future budgets, passing the cost of today's spending onto tomorrow's taxpayers. Buyers of OFZs - mainly Russian banks - make money on the difference between the cost of financing and the yield of the securities. The higher the rate and the more acute the Ministry of Finance's need for money, the larger this spread.