The website of the Public treasure Spain has once again suffered a collapse this Thursday and has had to stop its operations of purchase and sale of securitiesbefore the flood of requests of debt acquisition that it has received from investors.
The interest of retailers in the purchase of Spanish public debt (especially Treasury bills, but also bonds and obligations), has skyrocketed in recent months given the attractive interest offered these products after the rise in interest rates undertaken by the European Central Bank (ECB). An interest that exceeds that offered by banks for their deposits.
The flood of debt purchase requests through the Treasury website, which in January reached €400 million (in all of 2022 it was 432 million), has caused the agency to have to stop its operations for one hour last day and had to do it again this Thursday.
The Public Treasury and the Bank of Spain collapse due to petitions
Sources from the agency have explained to Efe that this strike has been carried out because the Treasury must send the Bank of Spain all the information on the purchase requests made through its website, with the aim of the agency carrying out the corresponding checks.
Given the large volume of information that the Treasury has to send to the Bank of Spain, “for security” and with the aim that this information arrives correctly, it has had to stop your service for an hour. However, as of today, the information will be sent to the Bank of Spain at dawn, according to the same sources.
Despite the halt in operations, Treasury sources have ensured that all applications that have entered correctly for an auction with non-competitive bids (they do not set a specific price for the bills or bonds, only the amount they want) are awarded at the average price weighted.
The purchase of Spanish public debt can be carried out through three channels: the Treasury website (free), bank branches (they charge commission) and those of the Bank of Spain (also free).
Right at the headquarters of the Bank of Spain in Madrid, in recent days there has been a large presence of small investors who are waiting in long lines to buy Spanish public debt.
For this reason, the Bank of Spain has decided that from February 7 it will be mandatory to make an appointment for the direct account service, which are securities accounts opened in the organization to maintain the balances of State debt.
Last January, the Secretary General of the Treasury and International Financing, Carlos Cuerpo, already assured that the agency had observed a renewed interest in the purchase of debt by individuals, domestic financial institutions and non-residents.
Retail investors can purchase Treasury bills at different terms (3,6,9 and 12 months), as well as two, three and five year bonds and obligations with different maturities, although the most common are usually at ten, fifteen and thirty years. Currently, twelve-month Treasury bills offer a return of 2.983%and ten-year obligations, around 3.306%.
