OREANDA-NEWS. July 09, 2015.

Breakdown of Holders of Government Bonds

  • The nominal value outstanding of government bonds was €124,003 million at end-May 2015. This was an increase of €789 million from end-April 2015.
  • Non-Residents held 58.9 per cent of Irish government bonds (€73bn), up from 52.4 percent 12 months earlier.

Outstanding government bonds[1] stood at €124,003 million in May 2015, with 11.7 per cent due to mature in less than three years. At end-May 2015, resident holders held 41.1 per cent of long-term Irish government bonds. Resident credit institutions and the Central Bank of Ireland, account for 92.4 per cent of resident holdings.

Bond holdings of non-residents continue to increase, standing at 58.9 per cent (€73 billion) in May 2015 (compared to 52.4 per cent 12 months earlier). This reflects the large proportion of new Irish government bonds being purchased by non-residents.

Within the next 5 years, 40.2 per cent of outstanding Government bonds will mature (Table 1).  Of these holdings, 67.4 per cent are held by non-residents. (Chart 1)

Furthermore, the annual interest payments on bonds maturing in the next 5 years account for 49 per cent of the total, at an average annual interest rate of 4.8 per cent. (Chart 2). In contrast, Irish government bonds issued in the last two years have had an annual interest rate of 2.3 per cent.

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

[1] Please see background information below and the explanatory notes for further information

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.