Belgians wishing to invest in 'Van Peteghem' bonds are experiencing serious difficulties making their purchases, with limits on banking transactions frequently preventing them from buying the desired quantity of the special one-year financial asset.
Adding to citizens' struggles is the fact that it often takes several days for banks to increase their transaction limits even once a request is made. This has left many Belgians scrambling to complete their desired purchases before the bond buying window closes on 1 September.
"Unfortunately, we have received many complaints indicating that the increase in the limit for making transfers is not going smoothly," Belgian Debt Agency Director Jean Deboutte told L'Echo. "Many people are frustrated by the fact that banks do not authorise transfers immediately because they follow certain procedures for certain amounts. Some people think that it was the Debt Agency that refused them, but this is not the case."
Belgian Debt Agency Director Jean Deboutte. Credit: Belga / Hatim Kaghat
The newspaper added that – as at most major commercial financial institutions – all of Belgium's four largest banks currently have strict transaction limits in place.
ING Belgium and BNP Paribas Fortis prohibit their customers from making daily online transfers greater than €25,000. At KBC and Belfius, the limits are €10,000 and €25,000 per week respectively.
Demand for the Van Peteghem bonds has been high ever since they went on sale on Thursday morning. On Monday afternoon, the Debt Agency reported that almost €9 billion worth of the bonds have already been purchased.
'Not a way to proceed'
Complications involved in the purchasing of the bonds have also caused many Belgians to resort to innovative methods to make their desired acquisitions. These typically include purchasing the assets in multiple instalments.
"My wife and I wanted to invest €100,000 in government bonds and had put that money together in a Bpost bank account. But I was told that the bank did not have the authority for transfers of that size. What we could do was not mentioned," one anonymous saver told De Tijd.
"We then went to KBC, but were told that it could take ten working days for our money to be transferred from Bpost bank to them. But by then you could no longer invest in the government bond. We ended up doing it in instalments. On day one, my wife and I each subscribed for €25,000 and we did that again on the second day. That is no way to proceed, is it?"
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The bonds, named after Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem, offer an attractive alternative to the savings rates currently provided by Belgian banks. Their effective yield is 2.81%, well above the savings rates offered by most commercial financial institutions.
Those interested in purchasing Belgian government bonds can find more information here.
