Ireland raises €3 billion from the sale of a new 10-year benchmark bond
- Ireland raises €3 billion from the sale of a new 10-year benchmark bond
- Funds raised at a yield of 2.651%
- Almost 40% of mid-point of €6 billion to €10 billion bond funding range complete
11 January 2024 - The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has today raised €3 billion through the syndicated sale of a new 10-year benchmark bond.
The funds were raised at a yield of 2.651%.
The bond matures in October 2034.
This is the first new 10-year benchmark bond issued by the NTMA since January 2022.
There was strong demand from a well-diversified investor base for today's transaction with a total order book in excess of €44 billion which included more than 300 individual accounts.
International investors were to the fore of today’s deal with 96% going to non-Irish investors.
The largest distribution was to the UK at 18.6%, closely followed by France/Benelux at 18.2%. Spanish & Portuguese investors bought 14.5% whilst German, Austrian, and Swiss investors took 14.3%. Other European geographies took 12.5% closely behind the Nordics who took 12.6%. Lastly, the domestic investor base accounted for 4.2%, Italian investors took 4% and the rest of the world accounted for a total of 1.3%.
The main investor categories were asset managers 35.1%, followed by banks 32.7%, central banks/official institutions 21.4%, insurance and pension funds 7.9%, and hedge funds 3.1%.
By issuing €3 billion in today’s transaction, the NTMA has completed almost 40% of the mid-point of its €6 billion to €10 billion bond funding range for 2024.
The NTMA will hold its first bond auction of the year on 21 March.
NTMA Director of Funding and Debt Management Dave McEvoy said:
“Today’s issue of a new 10-year benchmark bond – our first new 10-year bond since 2022 – is an encouraging start to our 2024 funding programme and highlights the ongoing strong investor demand for Irish sovereign debt.
The yield at which the bond was issued today reflects the improved risk profile of Irish bonds. Irish bond yields now trade close to that of core European sovereign issuers.
At €3 billion, the amount issued reflects our relatively limited borrowing requirement this year. Given our healthy cash balances and the relatively low level of maturing debt, our funding position is strong. We have a large degree of flexibility in meeting the Exchequer’s funding needs over the remainder of the year.”
The original version of this press release was subsequently updated to include the press release issued by the joint lead managers for the transaction termsheet.