MNI: Ireland Expects Issuance To Renormalise - Debt Office

Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency expects to return to normal issuance levels in the coming years, the NTMA told MNI on Thursday, adding that this will support liquidity in the Irish bond market.

“Ireland’s limited issuance of recent years has meant that the focus of the NTMA has been on maintaining liquidity in Ireland’s benchmark bond curve,” it said in emailed responses to questions. "Benchmark bonds will remain the core focus of the NTMA’s issuance programme."

The European Central Bank’s quantitative tightening programme has “helped provide support to liquidity in Irish bonds” given Ireland’s limited recent issuance, it added.

CREDIT RATING

Demand for Irish bonds, alongside that for other European sovereign bonds, has been strong in recent years, it said, “as Ireland’s credit rating has improved to AA in recent years, and Ireland is viewed as more of a core European sovereign issuer.”

Across the last five syndications, “close to fifty percent” of issuance “has been allocated to banks and central banks, one third to fund and asset managers and a little over 10% to the pensions and insurance industry,” the NTMA said. Domestic investors accounted for only 5%, as “approximately ninety percent” went to the UK and Europe combined.

The NTMA said its 2026 borrowing plan will be confirmed “before the end of the year.” When asked about the mix of maturities market participants can expect in 2026, the NTMA responded that its “focus for 2026 will be optimising issuance to meet investor demand.” (See MNI INTERVIEW: Euro To Help Bulgarian Debt Spreads)