State guarantees 170 million to Madeira in two bond issues until 2042

The State will guarantee two bond issues from the Autonomous Region of Madeira totaling 170 million euros, through Orders no. 13669/2026 and 13670/2026, signed on November 4, 2026, by the Secretary of State for the Treasury and Finance, João Alexandre da Silva Lopes. The orders were published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 217, of November 9, 2026, in the Finance section.

The authorization covers the granting of a personal State guarantee for the bond issue intended for the refinancing of regional debt, with a maximum limit of €47,900,000 in one case and €122,100,000 in the other, setting a guarantee commission of 0.2% per year for each operation. The guarantee is provided by the Portuguese Republic.

The legal framework invoked is paragraph 1 of article 38 of Organic Law no. 2/2013, of September 2 (Finance Law of the Autonomous Regions), and article 9 of Regional Legislative Decree no. 8/2025/M, of December 30 (Budget of the Autonomous Region of Madeira for 2026), in conjunction with paragraph 8 of article 62 of Law no. 73-A/2025, of December 30 (State Budget for 2026). The process was instructed by the Treasury and Finance Entity, under articles 13 and 15 of Law no. 112/97, of September 16, and the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency — IGCP, E. P. E. was consulted.

Refinancing loans maturing in 2027

According to the recitals, the Autonomous Region of Madeira intends to contract a bond loan with a banking consortium “with a view to replacing and amortizing various loans” previously contracted by reclassified public companies of the Region and by the region itself, “whose maturity occurs next year.” The Government justifies the operation by the improvement of regional debt management and the “consequent benefits in terms of financial costs,” considering it of “manifest interest to the national economy.”

The two issues have their own designations and distinct schedules, set out in the technical sheets attached to each order:

• “RAM 2027 — JANUARY 2042”: €47,900,000, subscription in January 2027, first interest payment in January 2028.
• “RAM 2027 — May 2042”: €122,100,000, subscription in May 2027, first interest payment in May 2028.

Identical financial conditions

Both operations follow the same technical model: issuance of fixed-rate bonds through private placement, issuance price of 100% of the nominal value and a nominal value of €50,000.00 per bond, with full payment on the subscription date.

• Term: 15 years.
• Repayment: amortizable in four equal annual installments, in the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th years from the date of subscription.
• Interest rate: fixed, equivalent to Mid-Swap for the average term of the issuance plus 0.41%, to be defined on a date closer to the subscription.
• Interest: actual/actual basis, with annual payment.

Banking syndicate with four institutions

The subscription guarantee is ensured by a banking syndicate with four institutions, each with 25%: Banco BPI, S. A., Banco Comercial Português, S. A. (Millennium Investment Banking), Banco Santander Totta, S. A. and Caixa Geral de Depósitos, S. A.

The lead managers and organizers are Banco BPI, Millennium Investment Banking, Banco Santander and Caixa — Banco de Investimento, S. A. (CaixaBI). The paying agent role will be exercised by the same entities “on an annual rotation basis,” under the terms of a paying agent agreement to be concluded with the issuer.

The impact on taxpayers is direct: the State assumes the default risk of 170 million euros of regional debt and receives, in return, a commission of 0.2% per year — approximately 340 thousand euros annually if the guaranteed amount is fully utilized. The operation also conditions the debt refinancing profile of Madeira until 2042, by concentrating the principal repayment in the last four years of each issuance’s life.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 217, of November 9, 2026, Finance (official reference: Order no. 13669/2026 and Order no. 13670/2026).