Belgium will issue another one-year state bond in September. To give people who subscribed to the successful September 2023 issue the chance to opt for a state bond again, the subscription period will be delayed by a few days.
On 4 September, the Federal Debt Agency will transfer the deposited amounts (including interest) back to the people who subscribed to the state bonds issued in September 2023. The exact time when the amount will appear in savers' accounts may vary from bank to bank.
"Last year, 542,670 Belgians chose to subscribe to the one-year state bond, for a total value of just under €22 billion. They will soon be refunded their deposited amount including interest, which amounts to €609.5 million," Federal Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem said in a press release.
"To give these savers the time to consider (re)subscribing for a new state bond, the subscription period will not start in the last week of August like last year, but on 5 September 2024."
Back to normal
Van Peteghem explained that the Federal Debt Agency plans to release one-year state bonds as well as at least one state bond with a longer duration of three, five, eight or ten years.
For people who subscribe to the bonds through their banks, the subscription period ends on Friday 13 September. For subscriptions through the ledger, the closing day will be Thursday 12 September. The final issue will then take place on Monday 16 September 2024.
The record yield from the one-year state bond issued in September last year was partly due to a tax break that allowed subscribers to enjoy a reduced withholding tax rate of 15% instead of the usual 30%.
The new bonds will not have this advantageous tax rate and will again be issued at a withholding tax of 30%, a spokesperson for Van Peteghem confirmed to The Brussels Times.
