This value, the highest invested in savings certificates (CA) since the beginning of the Bank of Portugal’s series in December 1998, represented an acceleration compared to the year-on-year growth of 5.1% in February.
In net terms, the CA stock in March increased by 2.486 billion euros compared to the same month in 2024, while the month-on-month increase was 726.3 million euros.
Following strong demand driven by the rise of Euribor, CAs began to lose the interest of savers when, in June last year, the series of certificates on sale (‘series E’) was replaced by ‘series F,’ which has a lower interest rate.
Nonetheless, investors returned to this instrument, more than compensating for the reduction in investments in treasury certificates (CT), which fell to 9.291 billion euros in March, 154 million euros less than in February, and a decrease of 12.2% year-on-year.
The amount invested in CT, now at its lowest level since April 2016, has been declining consecutively since October 2021, when it reached a peak of 17.865 billion euros.
According to statistical data from the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency — IGCP, new CT issues amounted to six million euros in February, while exits (redemptions) totaled 148 million euros.
The lowest value in CA was recorded in November 2012, when Portugal was adhering to its bailout plan and unemployment rates soared, accounting for 9.7 billion euros in investment in these securities.
The data released today by the Bank of Portugal also noted that the direct state debt increased by 2.6% year-on-year, to 294.863 billion euros, despite a month-on-month decrease of 1.741 billion euros.
In other debt instruments, year-on-year, treasury bonds (OT) and treasury bills (BT) increased by 7.6% and 31.3% respectively, reaching 170.523 billion euros and 8.970 billion euros. However, their month-on-month paths differed: the net balance of OT grew by 1.015 billion euros in March, while BTs decreased by 935 million euros.
