NTMA reports improvements in Ireland’s debt dynamics

National Treasury Management Agency

There were two developments that were particularly positive for Ireland’s debt dynamics in the first half of this year – the issue of our first ever 30-year bond and the completion of the early repayment of just over €18bn of Ireland’s IMF loan facility, according to National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) chief executive Conor O’Kelly.

On the release of the NTMA’s 2014 annual report and mid-year update, he explained the early repayment of the IMF loan was made using cheaper, long-term market funding and generated interest savings of over €1.5bn.

“The weighted average maturity of our long-term marketable and official debt has improved from 7.3 years at end 2012 to approximately 13 years now,” he said.

Regarding the €7.6bn Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, which was established in December 2014 as the successor fund to the National Pensions Reserve Fund, O’Kelly said its “healthy pipeline” of investment opportunities was encouraging.

“It remains on track to achieve its goal of having between €500m and €1b of committed investment by the end of this year.”

Sorcha Corcoran