The Catalan Government is preparing the release of 3,800 million euros in retail bonds

As carried out on two other occasions in the last year, the Catalan Government is preparing to release of 3,800 retail bonds to get cash. Financial sources informed ACN about the operation, which has not been confirmed by the Catalan Ministry of Economy. The bonds would be offered before November 21^st, the day that the bonds issued by the former Catalan Government in autumn 2010 expire.

Barcelona (ACN).- Financial sources told the Catalan News Agency (ACN) that the Catalan Government would be preparing an release of 3,794 million euros in retail bonds to be offered to private citizens through bank branches. However, the Catalan Ministry of Finance has not confirmed the news, although it has admitted that the Government “is always keeps several negotiation paths open in order to find the best funding solution”. “Nothing has been decided yet”, stated governmental sources, and “several options are being analysed”. According to financial sources, the retail bond release would be a similar operation to those carried out in autumn 2010 and spring 2011, which were a success taking into account the high demand for bonds. The new bonds would be offered before November 21^st, the day that bonds issued last autumn expire. The Catalan Government would currently be negotiating with most of the 23 financial institutions that participated in the last release. The 3,794 million would come from the 3,000 million issued last autumn and 794 million that were used in the last bond release but that the Spanish Government had already authorised. If the bonds were issued for a period of one year or less, they would not need the authorisation from the Spanish Government. If the Spanish Government does not authorise the operation, only 794 million euros could be issued beyond one year of expiration. The 3,794 million euro bonds would be offered as placements at one, two or three years.