The Ministry of Finance preparing for the second issue of retail bonds for natural persons

19. 2. 2025

After the successful first retail issue last year, the Ministry of Finance is preparing for the second issue of retail bonds. This is a part of the Ministry’s continued efforts to develop the capital market, disperse the savings of retail investors and improve financial literacy.

Last year’s retail bond issue was a success – 9,427 natural persons subscribed to three-year RS94 bond at a total nominal value of EUR 261 million, and 5,659 new trading accounts were opened. This achieved one of the key goals – increased interest in the capital market.

The Ministry has launched various measures and activities to this end, such as the development of individual investment accounts and the promotion of financial literacy. The issue of retail bonds is another important part of these efforts.

This year, the subscription of retail bonds will take place between 10 and 21 March 2025 via the branch networks of four distributors – Nova Ljubljanska banka, OTP banka, BKS BANK and the ILIRIKA brokerage company. Subscriptions can be made at 70 branch offices of Nova Ljubljanska banka, 79 offices of OTP banka, 109 offices of the Post of Slovenia, eight offices of BKS BANK and two offices of ILIRIKA.

The bond will have a tenor of three-years, the issue volume will depend on investors’ interest, and the interest rate will be 2.75%.

The bond can be subscribed by natural persons aged 18 or over with a permanent or temporary residence in Slovenia. The minimum subscription amount will be EUR 1,000 and the maximum EUR 250,000. This amount is higher than last year, as the aim is to reach people with larger savings who are interested in retail bonds.

With the adoption of the Act on Reconstruction, Development and Provision of Financial Resources, interest earned by natural persons investing in government securities issued in 2024, 2025 or 2026 that are offered exclusively to natural persons will, for income tax purposes, be treated the same as interest earned on cash deposits with banks and savings banks. This means that the sum of interest on the second people’s bond, together with interest on cash deposits and on the first bond, will not be taxed up to EUR 1,000.

After their issue, the bonds will be admitted to trading on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, where they will be freely transferable and can be purchased by anyone. Like last year, liquidity on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange will be maintained through one of the participating banks. This means that anyone can sell a bond if they choose to, namely investors will be able to either purchase or sell bonds on any given day.