Holders of Irish Government Bonds - May 2016

View information release with charts (PDF 503.9KB) and related data tables.

Key Developments

• The nominal value outstanding of government bonds increased by €253 million to €120,920 million in May 2016.
• Within the next 5 years, €49,532 million of government bonds will mature.

Outstanding government bonds¹ stood at €120,920 million in May 2016, this is an increase of €253 million from last month. However, this is €3,083 million less than this month last year.

Within the next 5 years, €49,532 million of government bonds will mature (Table 1). Of this, €15,645 million will mature in the next 3 years, with a further €33,887 million in the two years after. Non-residents hold 67.3 per cent of these maturing bonds (Chart 1).

Non-resident holdings increased over the month to €69,805 million, however this is still 6 per cent lower than this month last year. 

Irish resident holdings increased slightly to €51,115 million, with Irish credit institutions and the Central Bank of Ireland accounting for 93.3 per cent of the total (Chart 2).

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

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 May 2014. The new series beginning in May 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 May 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 (PDF 189.46KB) for further information