Leading the way is Italy, which sold a record 18.2 billion euro retail bond this month to increase domestic holdings of its debt. This means around 15% of outstanding Portuguese government debt now sits with retail investors, versus 10% in recent years. Belgium meanwhile has issued 390 million euros of state notes to retail investors this year, the highest since 2011. But individuals still only hold 1% of its 1.3 trillion euro public debt overall, a spokesperson said. Italy first launched retail bonds in 2012 amid the euro zone debt crisis, reducing reliance on international investors as borrowing costs surged.

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Persons: that's, Rui Amaral, Amaral, Banks, Maric, Post, Jorge Garayo, Cyril Rousseau, Rousseau, Yoruk, Dhara Ranasinghe, Hugh Lawson Organizations: Spanish Treasury, Spanish, European Central Bank, ECB, Treasury, Generale, Germany, Thomson Locations: Portugal, Spanish, Italy, Belgium, Europe, Spain, France, Germany