Italy's state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) said on Saturday it would offer its first retail bond to help fund public works projects. CDP will offer 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) worth of bonds to Italian residents from March 9 to March 27, it said in a statement.
While CDP has offered postal bonds since the 1920s, this is the first time it has sold retail bonds through banks, a spokeswoman said. Italy's government has successfully issued a series of retail bonds in recent years beginning with a first issuance tied to domestic inflation in March 2012 to tap large domestic savings when there was scant appetite for its debt abroad.