Interest on savings certificates will rise again to 3.4% in February. These government savings products have, in recent months, become more attractive than ever thanks to the indexed bonus of the three-month Euribor rate. But be warned: there is a cap of 3.5% of the base price.

On Series E savings certificates (the certificate currently for sale), the base rate in February will rise to 3.403% overall, according to data released on Tuesday by the Treasury and Public Debt Management Agency – IGCP. In the case of older serials, the yield is higher.

The basic rate for savings certificates is calculated per month according to the formula: E3 + 1%, where E3 is the average of the 3-month Euribor values ​​observed in the previous 10 working days (The result is rounded to the third decimal place). The three-month Euribor — which had been negative for more than seven years, between April 21, 2015, and July 13 last year — is now at 2,482%. In the December average it was fixed at 2.063%.

However, application of the formula cannot result in a base rate of less than 0% or higher than 3.5%. The limitation stems from the design of the product itself, in which the yield calculation is defined. This limitation is a kind of precaution to control the state’s expenditure on interest.

In addition to this basic rate is the time bonus. 0.5% from the beginning of the second year until the end of the fifth year and 1% from the sixth year until maturity (i.e. 10 years).

In the case of Treasury Savings Growth Certificates (CTPC), the gratuity premium that will be in effect next month will be 1.2%. These products, the return of which is linked to the growth of GDP, have lost their attractiveness compared to savings certificates.