Securities Holdings Statistics

Statistics on holdings of securities across resident institutional sectors are published by the Central Bank of Ireland on a quarterly basis. These statistics show the trends in the market value of holdings (stock) at each quarter-end and cover debt securities, quoted shares and investment fund shares/units. This dataset provides information on the holdings of all sectors – including Irish households – by counterparty (issuer) country and sector, and the currency of denomination.     

Highlights – Q2 2026

Publication Date: 24 September 2026

The total market value of Irish resident Security holdings reached a series high of €7,063.3 Bn at end-Q2 2026 (Chart 1), increasing by 11 per cent or approximately €717 Bn over the quarter, up from €6,346.3 Bn at end-Q1. This represented the largest quarterly increase in the time-series, surpassing the €359 Bn increase in Q3 2025.

Holdings of Listed Shares were the largest contributors to the quarterly increase, rising by €493.2 Bn or 19 per cent, accounting for approximately 69 per cent of the total quarterly movement. More specifically, Listed Shares issued by NFCs drove the increase, accounting for circa 60 per cent (€428.6 Bn) of the overall total quarterly increase.

Chart 1:

Investment Funds account for a significant proportion of total security holdings by institutional sector, accounting for €5,240 Bn or 74 per cent of total Irish resident security holdings at end-Q2 2026 (Chart 2). This also marks Investment Funds passing the 5 trillion holdings value threshold, as the sector recorded an increase of €607.2 Bn (or 13 per cent) over the quarter, historically the largest recorded movement in the sector to date.

Chart 2:

Notwithstanding the overall size and growth in the Investment Funds sector, all institutional holder sectors recorded an increase in the market value of their holdings in Q2 2026. The drivers of growth varied by Institutional Sector. For the Investment Fund sector, the increase in the market value of related holdings is primarily attributable to revaluation increases. This also applies to the Household and NFC sectors i.e. revaluations exceeded net transactions in the quarter. Conversely, positive net transactions in the Money Market Funds (€24 Bn), Insurance Corporations (€33 Bn), Credit Institutions (€12 Bn) and Pension Fund (€2 Bn) sectors were the primary drivers of the increase for these sectors, exceeding revaluation movements.

Revaluations arising from increases in underlying market prices had a significant impact on developments in Q2 2026, particularly for equities issued by United States non-financial corporates. Securities issued from the United States accounted for circa 50 per cent of the quarter’s overall total increase, recording an increase of €359.3 Bn or 15 per cent over the quarter to stand at €2,720 Bn at end-Q2 2026.

Chart 3:

Chart 3 examines the movements of Investment Fund Holdings of US originated NFC Listed Shares. The large increase in the market value of these positions at end-Q2 2026 can primarily be attributed to Revaluations of €445.9 Bn, accounting for circa 73 per cent of the Q-on-Q movement. Conversely, Transactions accounted for €139 Bn in the period.

Chart 4:

Irish-resident investors held approximately €115.4 Bn of ESG Debt securities at end-Q2 2026, up from €107.9 Bn at the previous quarter – growing circa 6.9 per cent over the quarter.

Of the total ESG holdings, Green Bonds make up about 63.8 per cent of the ESG total. Green bond holdings increased approximately 6.7 per cent Q-on-Q from €69 Bn to €73.7 Bn.

Table 2: