No. 39 - An analysis of debt securities issued and placed in Italy

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the data collected by the Bank of Italy on the issuance and offering of debt securities in Italy, including data collected under Article 129 of the Consolidated Law on Banking. The analysis covers outstanding financial instruments over the period that goes from December 2008 to December 2022, and shows how, measured against the peak reached in 2012, the amount outstanding of debt securities in Italy declined by about a third, despite the issuance of non-financial corporate bonds doubling. This trend is attributable to a decrease in the reliance on bond issuance by the banking sector, whereas deposits and Eurosystem refinancing instead increased. Notably, the market for structured bank bonds drastically reduced and was not compensated by the increase in certificate issuances in recent years. Furthermore, from the analysis of data collected under Article 129, it emerges that the placement of bonds issued by non-resident entities is mainly carried out by large international banking groups. Providing a comprehensive view of the debt securities market in Italy helps understand the financing strategies adopted by financial intermediaries and companies, enables the analysis of potential risks to financial stability, and allows for evaluating the impact of regulatory measures, either ex ante or ex post.