The days ahead are crucial for the billions of euros that Belgians have invested in state bonds: the interest rate for the new one-year bond was announced on Tuesday, while the long-awaited money from last year's bonds will be released on Wednesday.
A year ago, over half a million people subscribed to the one-year state bond, raising a record €21.896 billion. This money will be released on Wednesday, in addition to a net interest of 2.81%: good for more than €22.5 billion.
As this money is all feeding back into the Belgian economy, many banks are coveting it: ING, Belfius and KBC, among others, launched special actions last week. They launched term accounts with gross interest rates of up to 4% from six months to one year.
Of the major banks, BNP Paribas Fortis is the only one that has not yet made a public announcement to attract people who are getting their state bond money back. However, this may happen next Friday, when the bank publishes its half-year results. Argenta, meanwhile, stated that it will not be participating in these "one-off stunts".
New bonds?
The Federal Government is also taking part. From Thursday (the day after all the money is released), two new state bonds will be issued: one with a one-year maturity and another with a ten-year maturity.
Unlike last year (when the withholding tax was reduced to 15%), the full 30% will now have to be paid – making the new bonds less attractive than last year's. The new one-year bond will yield 2.75% gross (1.925% net), the Debt Agency announced on Tuesday. The ten-year bond will yield 2.8% gross (1.96% net). This is lower than the interest rates promised by some big banks.
This means that those who recover their investment in the one-year state bond on Wednesday can immediately opt to buy a new state bond, but also have the option to put it in a savings account or a term account, all with different terms and conditions.
The capital is guaranteed for these formulas, with a fixed return on top. It is worth considering that savings rates will fall in the near future, as well as inflation. It currently stands at around 3%, but the Federal Planning Bureau expects it to dip below 2% from next spring.
