In a request to which Lusa had access, the PCP faction points to the sudden way in which the suspension of the issuance of the E Series Savings Bonds (CA) was announced Friday evening to justify the urgent hearing of the Secretary of State João Nuno Mendes, on the Budget and Finance Committee.
Noting that the announcement of the suspension came “following statements made by bank officials, namely the ‘Chairman’ of Banco CTT, Dr. João Moreira Rato, calling on the government to suspend the issuance of savings bonds”, the PCP deputies of believes that the end of the E series is “a favor the government is doing the banks”.
The interest rate for the E-series is determined monthly (on the penultimate day of the month, starting on the following), taking into account a formula that includes a permanent premium and the average of the three-month Euribor values recorded in the last 10 business days with the law to be determined from the formula, a base interest rate higher than 3.5% cannot arise.
In the new series of CAs, whose commercialization will be available on Monday, the base rate cannot go beyond 2.5% – with an increase also provided through a permanence premium.
“The end of the issuance of savings certificates with a fee more adjusted to reference rates (and above current bank offerings) is a favor that the government is doing to the banks and legitimizes the continuation of unacceptable fee levels for time deposits, rather than the instruments that would promote the end of this abuse,” refers to the PCP’s request.
The communist deputies also point out that “Portuguese banking, which remains one of the lowest-yielding term deposits in the entire Eurozone,” has revealed discomfort with the existence of series ECAs, whose interest rate is “well above banks’ offerings. is”. “.
With the end of the E-series and the creation of the F-series, “instead of encouraging the banks to adapt their offerings to the most adequate remuneration offered by the savings certificates, the government has decided to limit the maximum remuneration of to adapt the new savings certificates to the abusive banking practices”.
At the end of April, the volume invested in CA reached EUR 30,324 million, a maximum value comparable to the EUR 19,626 million recorded at the end of last year. In May alone, private savers invested EUR 1,818 million in savings certificates.
Source: DN
