State Begins Selling Bonds to Public, Finance Minister Kamenicky First to Buy

Bratislava, March 3 (TASR) - Slovakia began selling bonds to the public on Monday, and they will available for purchase throughout March, with Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) buying the first bonds in the morning at a Bratislava branch of one of the five banks that have agreements with the state to sell them. "It went very quickly, I was surprised myself. As a constitutional official and minister, I had to fill in one extra questionnaire, which people don't have to do normally. Despite that, it took maybe three-four minutes, so it was very quick. I didn't even get a paper, but I saw it directly on my internet banking where it came up. I believe that people will appreciate being able to acquire this bond very quickly," said Kamenicky. "Bonds for the public are guaranteed by the state. Their yield is guaranteed by the state, and so it's a much safer investment. Of course, the safer it is, the lower the yield, but I have to say that I have a fixed deposit, and today I will buy a bond that will give me about twice the yield I had before," stated the minister. Kamenicky stressed that people should purchase bonds only through the branches of five banks that have agreements with the state, namely, CSOB, Slovenska sporitelna, Tatra banka, UniCredit Bank and Vseobecna uverova banka. Only one bond issue is planned for the public this year. The Agency for Debt and Liquidity Management (ARDAL) may add €100 million to the total of €400 million, but there will be no more issues in 2025. "But of course, if it is successful, and I am confident that it will be, we'll continue the process next year," the minister announced. The bonds include two types, Investor and Patriot, with different maturity periods. The interest rates will be 3 percent for the two-year bond and 3.3 percent for the four-year bond, with the yield being net of taxes, fees and contributions. The minimum bond value will be €1,000, and the first purchase opportunity will be limited to March. Subsequently, it will be possible to trade the bonds on the stock exchange. lin/df