Portugal's debt securities stock declines as public sector reduces borrowing
Debt securities issued by Portuguese residents totalled €322,025M at the end of August 2026, according to the Banco de Portugal (BdP). This reflects a decrease of €1,968M from July 2026 and is down from €320,057M in August 2025.
The decline was driven almost entirely by public administrations repaying more debt than they issued.
Public sector drives the decline
Central and local government accounted for the bulk of the reduction. Net emissions from public administrations were negative €1,302M in August, meaning repayments outpaced new borrowing.
The value of public-sector debt securities also fell. Marked-to-market valuations dropped by roughly €1,000M, though accrued interest of about €400M offset part of that loss.
At the end of August, public administration debt securities stood at €188,517M, down €3,622M from the same month a year earlier and €1,896M lower than in July.
Accumulated net emissions for the year reached €9,154M, 43.3% less than in the same period of 2025.
Despite the slower pace of issuance so far, the central bank notes that the public financing programme foresees relevant emissions through the end of 2026, which should bring the full-year figure closer to last year's total.
Financial and corporate sectors show modest growth
While the public sector reduced its footprint, the financial sector saw net positive emissions of €195M, and non-financial corporations added €106M, as borrowing in both sectors exceeded repayments.
Listed shares issued by residents painted a brighter picture. The stock of quoted shares reached €84,222M in August 2026, an increase of €3,604M from July 2026. The Banco de Portugal attributes this growth largely to valuation gains of €2.8B in non-financial corporate shares and €0.8B in the financial sector.
ESG debt holds steady
Debt securities labelled as ESG — meeting environmental, social and governance criteria — remained a small but stable share of the market.
At the end of August 2026, ESG-labelled debt totalled €14.8B, equivalent to 4.5% of the total debt securities stock.
Amortisations ahead
Looking forward, the Banco de Portugal schedules roughly €46.5B in debt repayments over the next 12 months, representing 13.6% of outstanding securities by nominal value.
The most significant near-term maturities include €8,362M in non-financial corporate debt securities maturing in September, alongside €7,818M in repayments due next April.
