Holders of Irish Government Bonds - August 2015

View information release with charts and related data tables.

Breakdown of Holders of Government Bonds

• The nominal value outstanding of government bonds decreased by €542 million to €123,884 million in August 2015.
• Non-residents have significantly increased their holdings of Irish Government bonds over the past year, to 60.1 per cent of outstanding bonds, up from 53.9 per cent 12-months earlier. The pace of this increase is easing as holdings by the combined domestic Credit institution and Central Bank increase.

Outstanding government bonds stood at €123,884 million in August 2015, with just 11.7 per cent due to mature in less than three years. At end-August 2015, Irish residents held 39.9 per cent of long-term Irish government bonds. Irish credit institutions and the Central Bank of Ireland, account for 92.1 per cent of the resident holdings (Chart 2). The nominal value outstanding of government bonds decreased by €542 million principally due to the repurchase from the Central Bank of Ireland and cancellation of floating rate bonds relating to Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Act 2013.

Despite this sale, holdings of Irish Government bonds by Irish Credit Institutions and the Central Bank of Ireland increased by €283 million, implying strong buying activity in these sectors. As a result, bond holdings of non-residents declined by €825 million during the month. Nonetheless, non-resident holdings are significantly higher in August 2015 compared 12 months earlier (+€14 billion).

Within the next 5 years, €49.9 billion nominal value of Government bonds will mature (Table 1). Non-residents hold 69.5 per cent of these maturing bonds (Chart 1).
Detailed tables and the explanatory notes can be found on the Central Bank’s website.

Notes

(i) Data are sourced from the Central Bank of Ireland

(ii) Data refer to €-denominated debt securities

Background information

This data series was published for the first time in March 2014. The new series beginning in December 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 December 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.