Savings bonds again attracted investment in July, but at a more moderate pace than up to the fifth month of the year. According to data released yesterday by the Bank of Portugal (BdP), the amount invested by households in the state savings product amounted to EUR 389.5 million, increasing the net subscription to EUR 33.6 billion.
Although these figures reflect effective growth, they nevertheless represent a decrease of about 42% compared to the monthly variation of June, when issues totaled EUR 670.3 million, already reflecting a 70% drag on the 2.2 billion euros raised in May. July was therefore the second month in which the run on the aforementioned government bonds showed signs of weakness.
We must not forget that this delay coincides with the moment when the government decided to suspend the Série E and launch a new one, with less attractive conditions. Although it is also indexed to the three-month Euribor, the F-series, created on June 2, has a maximum cap of 2.5% and a longer maturity – of 15 years – accompanied by sustainability premiums that can reach up to 1.75 %. % (above 1%, only from 12th grade).
After almost three years with a stagnant stock of around EUR 12 billion, savings certificates reached the level of EUR 13 billion for the first time in July 2022. Since the beginning of 2023, investments in this product have already amounted to almost 14 billion euros, with March recording the largest monthly increase: there was more than 3.5 billion euros.
Households have invested 45.7 billion euros in certificates, which means that they hold about 16% of the national debt.
Currently, the total savings concentrated by households in this product amount to 33.6 billion euros, which, compared to the same period of 2022, when 13.2 billion euros were recorded, represents an increase of 153%, ie more than double. This bet had a direct impact on the cash of the banks, which recorded accumulated losses of 8.7 billion euros in deposits from individuals until May – in June, when the new series came on the market, financial institutions already had 1.2 billion euros raised.
On the other hand, government bonds, another government debt instrument, fell for the 21st consecutive time in July, by EUR 216.8 million less than in the previous month. Since October 2021, these securities have lost capitalization and have shrunk from EUR 17.8 billion to almost EUR 12.1 billion, a difference of EUR 5.7 billion (-32%). Compared to the same month in 2022, the decrease was about 30%.
If we calculate the positions of both certificates, it is concluded that households have almost 45.7 billion euros in government savings products. Given that the national debt amounted to 280.1 billion euros in June, according to the latest statistics from the central bank, this means that 16.3% of it is owned by individuals.
Mariana Coelho Dias is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
