Holders of Irish Government Bonds – January 2017

8 March 2017

View information release with charts and related data tables.

Key Developments

• The nominal value outstanding of government bonds increased by €4,242 million to €125,887 million in January 2017, due to the issue of a new 20-year bond.
• Within the next 5 years, €48,850 million of government bonds will mature, with €29,499 million maturing within the next 3 years.

Outstanding government bonds¹ stood at €125,887 million in January 2017, this is an increase of €4,242 million from last month, due to an issue of a new 20-year bond.

Within the next 5 years, €48,850 million of government bonds will mature (Table 1). Of this, €29,499 million will mature in the next 3 years, with a further €19,351 million in the two years after. Non-residents hold 64.5 per cent of these maturing bonds (Chart 1).

Estimated non-resident holdings increased over the month to €70,814 million, this is an increase of €3,737 million from last month.

The Credit Institutions and Central Bank sector has the largest amount of Irish resident holdings, with €51,712 million. This accounts for 93.9 per cent of the resident total (Chart 2).

Detailed tables and the explanatory notes can be found on the Central Bank of Ireland’s website here.

Background information

This data series was published for the first time in January 2014. The new series beginning in January 2013 is based on improved information sources, so it is not directly comparable with previous publications. Care should, therefore, be exercised in comparing the new series with earlier publications.

The change has arisen due to the introduction of the Securities Holdings Regulation by the ECB in January 2013. The dataset is compiled from data submitted by all custodians resident in Ireland, direct reporting by end investors and information from the Government Bond Register held by the Central Bank to provide breakdowns by maturity and by holding sector.

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¹ Please see background information and the explanatory notes for further information.