Savings and Treasury certificates: limit rises to 16 billion

The Minister of State and Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, increased the issuance limit for savings certificates and treasury certificates from 10 billion to 16 billion euros, through Order no. 12933/2026, signed on October 19 and published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 206, on October 23, 2026. The change is made under paragraph 10 of the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 1-A/2026, of January 2, which authorizes the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency — IGCP, E. P. E. to issue public debt within the limits set by the State Budget Law for 2026. The order takes effect from the date of its publication.

The preamble of the decree justifies the measure based on the evolution of demand: during the current year, private individuals’ interest in subscribing to savings certificates “has significantly exceeded the forecasts” that formed the basis of the January resolution. Added to this was the launch, on July 6, 2026, of the new series of treasury certificates — the Treasury Certificates Series 5 —, for which demand also exceeded the predicted scenario. The Government concludes that the impact of these circumstances will result in subscriptions “considerably higher than predicted,” making it necessary to revise the limit set in paragraph 4 of the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 1-A/2026.

The operation is neutral from the perspective of overall indebtedness: the increase in issuances aimed at small savers is offset by an equivalent reduction in other instruments, maintaining compliance with the maximum limit of overall direct net indebtedness set in Article 64 and Articles 66 to 70 of the State Budget for 2026, approved by Law no. 73-A/2025, of December 30.

Savings and treasury certificates: from 10 to 16 billion

Point 3 of Order no. 12933/2026 raises the limit relating to the issuance of savings certificates and treasury certificates, established in paragraph 4 of the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 1-A/2026, from €10,000,000,000.00 to €16,000,000,000.00. This is an increase of 6 billion euros, the largest of all the adjustments provided for in the decree and the only one that expands the placement capacity for the general public.

Fewer treasury bonds and bills

In return, the order cuts the limits for debt instruments placed with institutional investors:

Treasury bonds: from €35,000,000,000.00 to €27,500,000,000.00 (minus 7.5 billion).
Treasury bills: from €18,000,000,000.00 to €15,000,000,000.00 (minus 3 billion).

The preamble explains that increasing emissions through certificates allows for a reduction in funding obtained from other sources, “namely through a lower issuance of treasury bonds and treasury bills during the 2026 financial year.”

Special short-term debt certificates

The decree also adjusts the limit for “other funded public debt,” denominated in currency with or without legal tender in Portugal and under forms of representation distinct from the previous ones, which increases from €32,000,000,000.00 to €36,500,000,000.00. The justification relates to the financial availability of various entities in the administrative public sector, part of which should carry over to the next year and be applied to the creation of special short-term debt certificates (CEDIC), the limit of which is set out in no. 5 of the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 1-A/2026.

What changes for savers

For individual savers, the practical consequence is the existence of additional margin to subscribe to savings certificates and treasury certificates until the end of the year, without the State having to refuse new subscriptions due to the exhaustion of the ceiling. The decision is made by the Minister of Finance, in coordination with the actions of the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency — IGCP, E. P. E., and keeps the product conditions unchanged: only the global issuance limit is revised, not the rates or the terms of the series being marketed.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 206, of October 23, 2026, Finance section (official reference: Order no. 12933/2026).