The management of family savings is undergoing a significant change, with national savers seeking refuge outside traditional banking to protect their capital. The widespread decline in interest rates on term deposits led millions of Portuguese people to transfer their money to a public debt product that offers greater profitability and security guaranteed by the State. The most recent figures reveal an unprecedented rush on this financial instrument, showing where the Portuguese are increasingly investing their money.
The total value invested in Savings Certificates reached a new historic high, standing at 40.1 billion euros at the end of last year. According to Expresso, data from Banco de Portugal confirms that families have accelerated their investment in this product, to the detriment of solutions offered by commercial banks.
During the year 2025 alone, the Portuguese subscribed over 5.45 billion euros in these debt securities. This massive movement of capital reflects dissatisfaction with the remuneration of bank deposits, whose interest rates continue to fall, with rare specific exceptions in the market.
Profitability beats the competition
The main motivation for this change in strategy is the clear difference in financial return. While competing options for term deposits paid, on average, just 1.37% until the end of November, the profitability of State certificates remains at a higher level.
The same source indicates that, in December, the interest rate for this product stood at 2.057%, offering a considerably higher gain than the banking average. Although it registered a slight drop to 2.046% in January, the value continues to be attractive for those looking for low-risk investments, as the calculation is indexed to the 3-month Euribor average.
Strong bet on the national stock market
Interestingly, the profile of the Portuguese investor was not limited to guaranteed capital products. The year 2025 was also marked by a significant jump in the amount invested in national shares, demonstrating a diversification of families’ investment portfolios.
The aforementioned source explains that the amount held by the Portuguese in shares reached 73.4 billion euros, the highest value recorded since 2007. This growth of 14.3 billion compared to the previous year is not only due to new purchases, but also to the strong appreciation of companies listed on the Lisbon stock exchange.
Record appreciation of companies
The banking regulator justifies this increase with the good performance of securities in the capital market. The positive variation reflects the rise in the prices of both non-financial companies and the financial sector, which experienced a year of significant gains.
It also explains that, in the specific case of non-financial companies, this appreciation was the highest since 2009. This data proves that, despite the search for security in State certificates, the Portuguese are also attentive to the variable income opportunities provided by the national economy.
Also read:
