By the end of May, the debt of the private sector, which includes companies and individuals, stood at approximately 465.081 billion euros, while around 374.056 billion euros pertained to the public sector—composed of public administrations and state-owned enterprises.
In the fifth month of the year, private sector debt increased by 3.512 billion euros compared to April, and by 2.9% year-on-year, driven by increases of 2.329 billion euros in businesses and 1.183 billion euros in individuals.
According to the Bank of Portugal, corporate debt rose by approximately 2.329 billion euros, “reflecting increases in the financial sector (1.6 billion euros) and abroad (0.7 billion euros).”
The rise in individual debt, amounting to 1.183 billion euros, was “mainly due to housing credit, similar to previous months.”
At the end of May, private company debt represented 300.700 billion euros and individual debt 164.380 billion euros, equivalent to year-on-year increases of 1.3% and 6.1% respectively.
In the public sector, the increase of 4.424 billion euros occurred mainly through external sources (3.4 billion euros), via the purchase of long-term public debt securities by non-residents.
Public sector debt also grew in relation to public administrations (around 400 million euros), individuals (300 million euros) — through the subscription of savings certificates — and non-financial companies (300 million euros).
At the end of May, public sector debt was 374.056 billion euros, a 4.0% increase year-on-year.
In the month under review, the annual rate of change (arc) for private company debt—excluding the impact of changes not caused by actual transactions—was 1.8% compared to the same month in 2024, accelerating from 1.0% in April.
For individuals, the arc rose 6.1%, reaching the highest value since the series began, accelerating from 5.6% in April. The Bank of Portugal noted that this rate has been rising since the end of 2023.
