The rush of small savers to the new Italian public debt securities - the Btp Valore and the new Btp Valore Insieme - has brought substantial revenues for the state coffers. After five days of placement, the first double issue of the sovereign bond designed for the retail public closed today with a total of sixteen billion and 622 million euros, for over 560 thousand contracts signed.
Making the largest share is the traditional Btp Valore, which has collected almost three times as much as the new security: 12.071 billion euros through 385,962 contracts, compared to 4.551 billion, with 174,067 contracts, of the Btp Valore Insieme. These are two different formulas, with a single deadline, set for 27 October 2031.
The first distributes interest every three months, with coupons increasing over time, the second concentrates the payment of the coupon at the end of five years, together with the repayment of the capital. The result fits into a framework of collections which, in previous issues of the BTP Valore, had fluctuated between a minimum of 11.2 and a maximum of over 18.3 billion euros (in the fourth and first issues respectively). The new double offer exceeds the 16.57 billion of the sixth issue and the 16.22 billion of the seventh, while remaining below the results of the first three operations, all above 17 billion. The number of contracts, over 560 thousand, is also higher than that recorded in the last four issues considered, although lower than the levels of the first three.
The closure of the last placement also brings with it some news on returns. The Mef has in fact revised the definitive coupon rates upwards compared to the minimum levels announced on 16 October, to take into account the evolution of market conditions and preserve the equivalence of the two instruments in terms of overall return. For the BTP Valore the definitive rates are set at 3.75% for the first and second years, 4.20% for the third and fourth and 4.75% for the fifth year. For the BTP Valore Insieme the overall single coupon was increased to 22.70%, to be paid at maturity together with the invested capital. The initial levels were respectively 3.70%, 4.10% and 4.70% for the Btp Valore and 22.25% for the Insieme security. The adjustment of the coupons therefore arrives precisely at the end of the offer and makes the framework of the returns promised to subscribers definitive.
For those who invest, the difference between the two formulas does not only concern the rate: the moment in which the interest arrives also matters. With the traditional BTP Valore the proceeds are distributed every quarter, while with the BTP Valore Insieme the payment is postponed to maturity. A choice that can respond to different savings management needs, without prejudice to the fact that the comparison must be made considering the entire return, taxation and any loyalty bonus provided for by the conditions of each security. On the last day of placement, which closed today at 1pm, approximately 1.72 billion euros were raised. The BTP Valore recorded subscriptions for 1.217 billion through 43,635 contracts, while the BTP Valore Insieme totaled approximately 504 million with 21,148 contracts.
For the Treasury, the collection is part of the now consolidated relationship with the savings of Italian families, called to participate directly in state financing through securities dedicated to the retail public. For savers, choosing an investment of this type instead means evaluating the promised remuneration and the possibility of holding the security until maturity, without forgetting that early sale on the market may involve a different price from the purchase price.
