For the first time in the last fifteen years, in 2011, foreign investors disinvested part of their portfolio held in Italian financial assets. The sales mainly involved public securities. From December 2010 to September 2011, Italian public debt securities held by non-residents decreased from 806 to 780 billion euros.
The lower demand for Italian public securities by non-residents found compensation in a greater interest from Italian investors which, between January and November 2011, divested foreign bonds for an amount substantially equal to that of the disinvestment of Italian bonds by foreign investors. Data from the Bank of Italy show how, in the first nine months of 2011, banks, households and businesses increased the value of Italian public securities in their portfolios by almost 40 billion euro.
The recent tensions on the financial markets are gradually favoring the composition of a new balance in the Italian public debt: the weight of foreigners is reduced, the importance of Italians is growing. The share of public securities held by non-residents out of total Italian public debt securities fell from 52,1% in December 2010 to 49% in September 2011. A low share of debt held by foreign operators is judged positively in the risk assessment sovereignty, making the country less exposed to the negative effects of market tensions.
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Attachments: Focus no. 05 – 03 February 2012.pdf
