In a statement to the public, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced the cancellation of the Btp€i auction on 24 April 2026, one of the long-scheduled end-of-month auctions. It is not uncommon for the State to decide to cancel an auction, but usually these are end-of-year ones, scheduled but which are not necessary for the budget.
In this case, however, the situation is different. The State has decided to issue new bonds, 10-year BTPs and 20-year BTP€ia, in the near future, under different conditions from those of the bonds auctioned on 24 April. For this reason, the auction was cancelled.
The new government bonds that caused the auction to be cancelled
As mentioned, there are two new titles, according to the MEF announcement:
- a 10-year benchmark BTP, maturing on 1 July 2036;
- a 20-year benchmark Btp€i, maturing on 15 February 2046.
They are two very different products. The 10-year BTP is considered the reference for government bonds, so much so that it is used to calculate the spread. It is a normal security, with a coupon that rewards the investor depending on the return.
The Btp€i, however, is more peculiar. Its yield and value are in fact indexed to the inflation of the Eurozone, the group of countries that use the euro as their currency. It is very suitable for protecting capital from rising costs.
The planned issuance of these two government bonds led the Mef to decide to cancel the 24 April auction of Btp€i. However, this does not mean that they will be replaced by the new titles announced.
When the new government bonds will be issued
The MEF was keen to specify that these two new government bonds will not be issued in the traditional manner, but through a dual tranche issue, therefore unique for the two bonds, and through syndication. This means that the State will entrust their assignment to a group of banks that will facilitate institutional investors’ access to the new securities. The institutes involved are:
- Banco Santander Sa;
- Citibank Europe Plc;
- Crédit Agricole Corp. Inv. Bank;
- Deutsche Bank Ag;
- Intesa Sanpaolo Spa;
- Société Générale Inv.
The date of these new issues has not yet been decided. The Mef, in the press release, explained that “the transaction will be carried out in the near future, in relation to market conditions”, therefore at the moment in which issuing these government bonds will be more convenient for the Treasury.
The auctions remained available to investors at the end of April
The cancellation of the Btp€i auction has reduced the number of products that the Treasury will put on the market at the end of April. In fact, the following remain available:
- on the 24th the Btp Short;
- on the 28th the Bots;
- on the 29th the medium and long term BTPs.
The last few months have been particularly sensitive for government bond auctions, with yields and spreads rising due to uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The cost of the new debt has therefore increased, also endangering the objective of emerging from the infringement procedure for the deficit/GDP ratio as early as this year.
