The Romanian Ministry of Finance raised RON 1.66 bln ( EUR 330 million) from the population in the July edition of its Fidelis government bond programme, maintaining the same level as the June issue and significantly exceeding the RON 1.18 billion subscribed in May.
Despite the consistent demand, July’s subscription remained below the record set during the February 2025 issue, which raised RON 4.3 billion, the highest since the Fidelis programme began.
The May edition marked the weakest Fidelis issue since September 2022, affected by domestic political uncertainty. The June and July issues showed renewed interest, primarily in euro-denominated securities, following the removal of one-year maturities from the 2025 issuance calendar. These maturities had traditionally been the most popular among retail investors.
The ministry discontinued one-year bonds due to an accumulation of short-term debt set to mature in 2026. Over the past eight months, Finance has relied heavily on short-term borrowing to cover immediate budgetary needs, driven by electoral and fiscal pressures. Officials are now attempting to balance the debt structure by encouraging long-term subscriptions.
To attract retail investors, the ministry maintained elevated interest rates in July. The seven-year euro-denominated bonds carried an annual interest rate of 6.3%, slightly down from 6.5% in June but still unusually high for foreign currency instruments. Investors subscribed EUR 95.54 million to this tranche, representing nearly one-third of the total raised in July.
In terms of currency breakdown, RON 681.3 million was subscribed in lei-denominated securities, accounting for about 40% of the total, while EUR 192 million, or approximately 60%, was placed in euro-denominated bonds.
Since the beginning of 2025, monthly Fidelis bond issues have collectively brought nearly RON 12.5 billion (EUR 2.5 billion) in financing from the population, more than triple the volume collected over the same period in 2024, when issuances occurred every two months.
Cumulatively, Romanians have lent the state around RON 28 billion (EUR 5.6 billion) in 2025 through government securities.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Romolo Tavani/Dreamstime.com)
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