Public finances, Bank of Italy: ‘Debt rises, reaching nearly 3.14 trillion in February’

Rome, 15 April (LaPresse) – In February, general government debt rose by 27.3 billion compared with the previous month, reaching 3,139.9 billion. This was announced by the Bank of Italy, which emphasised that the increase reflects general government borrowing requirements (14.2 billion), the growth in the Treasury’s cash holdings (12.9 billion, to 74.8), as well as the effect of discounts and premiums on issuance and redemption, the revaluation of inflation-indexed securities and changes in exchange rates (0.2 billion). The average residual maturity remained stable at 7.9 years. The increase in debt is attributable to that of central government (26.9 billion) and that of local government (0.4 billion); the debt of social security funds remained virtually unchanged. The share of debt held by the Bank of Italy continued to decline, standing at 18.0 per cent (from 18.3 per cent in the previous month). In January (the latest month for which this data is available), the share held by non-residents had risen to 34.9 per cent (from 34.3 per cent in the previous month), whilst that held by other residents (mainly households and non-financial corporations) had fallen to 14.3 per cent (from 14.5 per cent in the previous month).