Irish Life & Permanent has managed to raise €750 million on the capital markets to fund new mortgage lending. The proceeds will be used to fund future lending by the company's banking subsidiary, Permanent TSB.

In recent years the company has raised large sums via the capital markets and funding from this source now accounts for more than half the group's total mortgage lending.

Mr David Gantly, the company's group treasurer, said: "Irish Life & Permanent is Ireland's leading mortgage provider as indicated by the 31 per cent increase in mortgage lending we have achieved in the past year.

"But over the last few years, the demand for loans has not been matched by the growth in the retail savings market and for that reason we have increasingly sought funding from the wholesale financial markets."

Record growth in mortgage lending has helped Irish Life & Permanent beat market expectations and last week it announced a 14 per cent rise in operating profits for the first half. Mr Gantly said IL&P was a regular participant in wholesale financial markets and this meant the latest three-year note was very competitively priced at 12.5 basis points over Euribor rates. "More than 50 investors from all over Europe took part in this fundraising and our €750 million target was fully subscribed," he stated.

Co-managers of the deal were Barclays Capital, Credit Agricole Indosuez and Merrill Lynch International.