In fact, an unprecedented simultaneous placement of two titles has been scheduled from 19 to 23 October. On offer there will be a BTp Valore with a traditional approach, with a five-year maturity, coupons every three months and a yield that increases over time based on the now usual "step up" mechanism, with which the interests increase after a certain period (the progression will be communicated in the next few days). However, it will be joined by its "different twin": it will be called "BTp Valore Insieme", it will last five years like the first but will recognize interest in a lump sum at maturity, in a final maxi-credit which will obviously also include the full reimbursement of the invested capital.
With the structure communicated on 25 September, the Ministry of Economy remains faithful to the original philosophy of the BTp entitled to "Value": a family of government bonds reserved for small investors and families, but equipped with characteristics that can change from time to time based on market scenarios or the desire to refresh the panorama with something new: today characterized by a bullish phase in rates that promises not to end any time soon, inflamed by an inflation that would need an unlikely turning point at the moment geopolitics to change course. In any case, the double proposal is new for the retail market, and deserves some further clarification.
First of all, it is necessary to frame the comparison of the returns of the two securities. Their relationship is of financial equivalence, in the sense that the final single coupon of the BTp Insieme will be calculated to equate it to the overall return of the traditional security. The equivalence must be calculated in updated terms, to take into account the different interest recognition calendar. In practice, the final coupon of the Insieme BTp will not be the simple sum of those of the periodically detached BTp: it will be higher, to take into account the fact that not having received the credits the investor was not able to reinvest them obtaining an additional return. In short, the BTp Insieme requires us to wait: but it rewards the wait.
The mechanism of this single coupon bond is therefore designed for a saver who wants to fight the blows of inflation in this way but does not have the need or desire to receive the credit in installments. For those who are interested in this last aspect, the traditional BTp Valore offers coupons at an accelerated quarterly rate as always, designed to suggest the idea of a sort of additional income.
There are also other variables to consider, which however only concern those who will sell the BTp before maturity (always a viable option, as in all government bonds). In general terms, the flow of coupons anticipates the break-even moment, when the saver recovers the discounted value of the invested capital. And this factor affects the rate risk implicit in the two instruments, making the price on the «BTp Insieme» market generally more sensitive to changes in the level of rates.
