Investments, the paid parking of deposit accounts: which to choose and why

Before this directive the practice led to the use of the mechanism of bail-out. In the event of a bank being rescued, the States intervened and therefore indirectly all the tax payers (who paid the surplus deficit necessary to save the institution through the increase in taxes).

It should be pointed out that current account holders will not be the first on the list to end up with the institution's bailout. There are the first line shareholders, ie those who have bought shares in the bank and who hold them in their portfolio. If the intervention "to the detriment" of the shareholders was not enough to put the accounts back on the table, one passes to the bondholders, to those who have in the portfolio bonds issued by the same institution. And here there is a further distinction: first the owners of subordinated bonds (a riskier bond category) and then the holders of bonds (always issued by the same bank in difficulty) of the senior category (a little less risky). If these interventions are not enough, only then will it be possible to intervene on the liquidity available in the current account. But only for the part that exceeds 100 thousand euros.

The "switch" strategy
Some savers (more advanced than the average) use deposit accounts as a form of alternative investment to other savings instruments, such as investment funds.

Applying a "switch" strategy, which aims to seize the current promotions from time to time. Indeed, the offer of deposit accounts relies heavily on the promotional mechanism, which no longer means that the institution itself renews or increases the interest rate. Therefore, once the restriction has expired, savers using this strategy are ready to turn over liquidity to one (or more accounts) that at that time offer the best rates.

The disadvantage of this strategy consists in having to open more accounts (and therefore having to write down in more safe places password is access codes). The advantage is to obtain interest rates that on the government bond market require a time commitment of at least 10 years, against a time commitment (duration of the deposit limit) of about 12 months.

An example comes from the comparison between the yield of 10-year BTp, which in October 2019 stands at 0.8% (and on which then a 12.5% ​​withholding tax must be applied): therefore the net is at 0.7 %.

Those who buy a ten-year BTp can resell it ahead of time (unlike a non-releasable deposit account) but if in the meantime the market price has fallen it will be forced to take on a loss on the capital. On the other hand, if the natural maturity of the obligation (in this case 10 years) is awaited, the repayment of the capital will take place at par (or 100).

With the "switch" strategy it is possible to obtain the same (or even a little higher as shown in the tables in this chapter) yield of 10-year BTp compared to a decidedly lower time commitment.