NTMA sells €500m of treasury bills in auction

Bills sold at a yield of minus 0.55%

Photograph: iStock
Photograph: iStock

The National Treasury Management Agency has raised €500 million through an auction of treasury bills.

The sale received total bids of €1.985 billion, some 3.97 times the amount on offer. The bills have a maturity of 12 months and were sold at a yield of minus 0.55 per cent.

The low interest rates have offered significant advantages for the State in raising borrowings to refinance maturing loans.

The sale is part of the NTMA’s regularly scheduled auctions. In July, the Government raised €500 million in 11-month borrowings at an interest rate of minus 0.54 per cent.

Raising new cash at lower interest rates slowly reduces the average interest rates paid on all borrowings and delivers significant benefits to the exchequer.

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Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien

Ciara O'Brien is an Irish Times business and technology journalist