By Sara Rossi
Italian small savers showed healthy appetite for a retail bond offered by the Treasury this week, boosting Rome’s efforts to manage its huge debt pile.
The Treasury raised 16.6 billion euros ($19.36 billion) from a seven-year “BTP Valore” bond for retail investors only which was sold from Monday to Friday, Bourse data showed.
The response from households and non-financial firms was stronger than in two similar sales held earlier this year.
The Treasury raised 14.9 billion euros from an 8-year “BTP Plus” bond in February and 6.53 billion from an inflation-linked “BTP Italia” note in May.
“The final demand has clearly surpassed expectations, retail investors are reaffirming their enthusiasm for bonds designed specifically for…