Those 292 points are potentially worth it 50 billion in three years. These are the savings that the State should obtain thanks to the halving of the spread that has occurred in the last year. In November 2011, when the Berlusconi government was in its final stages, the yield differential between our 10-year government bonds and the equivalent German Bunds had reached an all-time high of 575 basis points.
Yesterday evening however it closed at 283, with a final slide downwards propitiated by theagreement in the United States between Democrats and Republicans, who have launched a measure to avoid the fiscal cliff and thus avert the danger of an American recession in 2013.
To understand the value of the spread in real terms, it is useful to compare the interest rates that the Treasury has had to offer over time on securities with the same maturity: at the end of 2011, the six-monthly BOTs had been placed at 3,25%, while the last week the yield offered at auction collapsed to 0,94%. According to calculations by the Bank of Italy, a 100 basis point spread saves Italy 3,1 billion in the first year, 6,2 in the second and 8 in the third.
