Barbadians have shown their renewed appetite for Government paper by acquiring $200 million in Barbados Optional Savings Bonds Plus (BOSS+) in less than six months.
This means that Government has now raised $600 million from these securities, which first hit the market in 2022 to “facilitate the funding of environmental, economic and social development in Barbados”.
In June, the Central Bank of Barbados announced that the latest tranche of BOSS+, the third, opened for public subscription, with an issue date of June 16, 2025.
On Wednesday, the monetary authority said that the latest series “has been fully subscribed”, with a fourth one scheduled to be available soon.
BOSS+ is a five-year investment that pays 4.5 per cent interest per annum in two instalments and that interest is not subject to withholding tax. The two previous series, issued in September 2022 and July 2023, were also sold out.
Like the previous series, the third one was for $200 million and open to individuals and institutions.
“Selling out in just six months is proof that investor confidence in Government securities has returned. We saw strong uptake from both institutional investors and individuals, which highlights that BOSS+ is truly an investment for everyone,” said the Central Bank’s director of communications, information and outreach, Novaline Brewster.
New series
“Given the broad interest among Barbadians and Barbadian businesses, we will be issuing a fourth tranche soon. We encourage anyone who wants to take advantage of this opportunity to
boost their finances to look out for the announcement of a new series,” she added.
Government has been issuing more securities as it seeks more local financing following the 2018 domestic restructuring in which individual and institutional bondholders lost millions of dollars.
In the Central Bank’s January to September economic review, Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge reported that Government “mobilised domestic financing through BOSS+, Treasury bills, and a 2044 debenture”.
“BOSS+ bond proceeds totalled $83.3 million during the review period, up from $29.2 million in the corresponding period in 2024. The National Insurance and Social Security Scheme held 24.1 per cent of these instruments and private companies held 23.6 per cent,” he said.
Greenidge added that receipts from the US$100 million bond issued in June “remained modest”.
“Net Treasury bill proceeds totalled $10.6 million, compared to the $91.7 million recorded during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2024 to 2025. The 2044 debenture issue raised $4.8 million and investors fully subscribed by the end of July 2025,” the Governor said. ( SC)
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