Benvenuto sul sito del Ministero dell’Economia e delle Finanze, conosciuto anche come Portale mef

Contenuto principale

- BTP ITALIA FROM APRIL THE 14TH UNTIL APRIL THE 17TH A NEW 6 YEAR BTP ITALIA: first 3 days reserved to retail investors (unless early closing)

Press release N° 73 of 03/21/2014

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) announces the issuance of BTP ITALIA, with a 6 year maturity - instead of 4 year maturity as for past issuances, from Monday, April the 14th until Thursday, April the 17th 2014, with two phases: the first three days, from April the 14th to April the 16th (which may be reduced to two in the case of early closing) will be reserved to individual investors and other entities with the same nature, while April the 17th (with possible early closing before the natural end of trading day time) will be reserved to institutional investors. The final bonus will be awarded to the participants in the First Phase of the distribution who hold the bond until maturity, in accordance with what established in previous issuances.

For the rest, the bond will continue to have the same financial characteristics of those already issued starting from 2012: semi-annual coupons indexed to the FOI (ex-tobacco) to which the payment of the accrued inflation in the semester is added (with the introduction of a floor in the event of deflation), bullet format and final bonus for those who buy the bond during the First Phase of the distribution (described later in this press release) and hold it until maturity.

This is the first of the two planned issuances by the MEF for 2014.

The innovations described are consistent with what has already been announced in the Guidelines for Public Debt Management 2014, with the aim, on the one hand, to guarantee the certainty of full allocation to individual investors, who continue to show considerable interest for the bond, and, on the other hand, to allow the MEF to pursue in an even more efficient way the objectives of public debt management, in particular with regard to the management of bonds’ redemptions for the next years.

In the coming days, the MEF will publish on the website of the Public Debt the term sheet for the new bond with all the detailed information concerning the innovations in the issuance process and it will update the FAQ to provide investors and market operators with all the necessary information in order to take part in the placement.

In any case, more information can be requested at: dt.gruppo.info@mef.gov.it

 

The innovations of the 6 year BTP Italia in summary

 

The innovations adopted can be divided into two categories:
A) the maturity of the bond;
B) the modality of placement.

Maturity of the bond: 6 years

In the next issuance, the BTP Italia offered will have a maturity of 6 years, differently from the 4 year maturity of past issuances. This choice addresses, on the one hand, the need arising in this economic environment from investors to have an instrument that offers protection against domestic inflation with a longer time horizon; on the other hand, this strategy is fully consistent with MEF’s goal for 2014 to continue in the process, already started in 2013, to slow down the decline in the average life of the debt, thereby setting the premises for an inversion.

Modality of placement: differentiation of investors

The next issuance of BTP Italia will continue to be open to all investors, without distinction, through the MOT, the retail regulated electronic market managed by Borsa Italiana, but it will take place in ways that make it possible to differentiate among them.
The placement will take place from April the 14th to April the 17th and it will be divided into two phases: in the First Phase, which will take place over three days from April the 14th to April the 16th, only individual investors and entities with the same nature can participate, while the Second Phase, which will take place on April 17th, 2014, will be dedicated to all the other categories of investors, mainly institutional ones, considering the significant interest shown in the instrument by them in past issuances. In both phases of the placement, the MEF guarantees that all orders executed on the MOT will be satisfied at a fixed price equal to 100.
However, the MEF reserves the faculty of early closing the offer in the following way: for the First Phase, the one dedicated to individual investors, the MEF can communicate by 1 p.m. of the second day (15 April) the decision to close in advance the placement on the same day (5.30 p.m.), ensuring to these investors a minimum duration of the placement of at least two days out of three, while for the Second Phase, dedicated to institutional investors, the MEF may decide to close in advance the placement during the same day of April 17th, before the natural close of trading, with a notice period of 30 minutes.
In the tables attached to the press release, all the types of investors that can take part respectively to the First Phase and Second Phase of the placement are listed.
The intermediary who receives the order directly from the final buyer (so-called proximity intermediary) has the responsibility to determine the nature of the investor, and then to convey the purchase order in the First or in the Second Phase of the placement, depending on the case. The order can be carried out at investor's bank’s desk or through any home-banking system having an on-line trading feature.
With regard to individual foreign investors, which can also participate in the placement except as provided by "selling restrictions" imposed by the respective countries, the identification and certification of their nature, even in this case, it is up to the intermediary that receives the final order by the purchaser. In the absence of any objective finding, the investor can participate only in the Second Phase, as for all foreign institutional investors.
There are no changes from previous issuance of BTP Italia with respect to individual investors resident in Italy but not Italian - and then with the Italian tax code - as well as those Italians living abroad.

 

ANNEX

Tables with the list of the types of investors that can participate to the two Phases of the Period of Placement

 

PERSONS ADMITTED TO
FIRST PHASE OF THE PERIOD OF PLACEMENT
(14-15-16 April 2014, unless early closing)

  1. A) Natural persons, anyhow classified
  2. B) Retail clients, with the exclusion of qualified counterparties and investors qualified as professional clients by law (referred to in Annex 3 of Regulation CONSOB n. 16190/2007, as amended). Retail clients treated as professional customers on request (referred to num. II in Annex 3 of Regulation CONSOB n. 16190/2007, as amended) are included herein, but they should be identified as retail clients in connection with the distribution of BTP Italia by the intermediary sending or submitting the purchase order or in any case prove their status as retail clients to the intermediary.
  3. C) Asset management companies authorised to provide portfolio management services on behalf of investors under points A) and B) above.
  4. D) Intermediaries authorised to provide individual portfolio management services on behalf of investors under points A) and B) above.
  5. E) Trust companies that provide portfolio management services, also through fiduciary registration, exclusively on behalf of investors under points A) and B) above.

PERSONS ADMITTED TO
SECOND PHASE OF THE PERIOD OF PLACEMENT
(17 April 2014, unless early closing in the same day)

  1. F) Qualified counterparties, not being natural persons, even if treated as retail or professional clients on request, referred to in Annex 3 of Regulation CONSOB n. 16190/2007*
  2. G) Investors, not being natural persons, qualified as professional clients by law, even if treated as retail customers on request, referred to in Annex 3 of Regulation CONSOB n. 16190/2007*
  3. H) Authorities and bodies included in the Public Administrations

* A list of investors included in points F) e G) above is set out below:

  • Persons authorised and regulated to operate in Italian and foreign financial markets
  • Investment firms
  • Banks
  • Insurance companies
  • Collective investment undertakings
  • Asset management companies not admitted to the first phase of distribution
  • Harmonised asset management companies
  • Pension funds and management companies for such funds
  • Financial intermediaries registered in the lists pursuant to Articles 106, 107 and 113 of the Italian Consolidated Law on Banking
  • Financial companies subject to mutual recognition
  • E-money institutions
  • Banking foundations
  • National governments and their offices, including public bodies established to manage public debt
  • Central Banks
  • International public organisations
  • Persons whose main business consists of dealing on own account in commodities and commodity derivatives
  • Persons whose exclusive business consists of dealing on own account on derivative financial instrument markets and, merely for hedging purposes, on spot markets, providing such persons are guaranteed by members of the central counterparties of the relevant markets, when the responsibility for the settlement of the contracts entered into by such persons falls under the competence of members of the central counterparties of the relevant markets.
  • Investors corresponding to those of previous paragraphs for persons in non-EU countries
  • Other authorized or regulated financial institutions
  • Persons dealing exclusively on their own account on financial instruments markets with indirect membership of clearing and settlement services and the local clearing and guarantee system
  • Other institutional investors, including companies dedicated to the securitization of assets or other financial transactions
  • Foreign institutional investors
  • Large undertakings meeting two of the following size requirements on a company basis:
    • balance sheet total: 20,000,000 euro,
    • net revenues: 40,000,000 euro,
    • own funds: 2,000,000 euro.
Rome 03/21/2014
IT