The state agency charged with managing Ireland's national debt today successfully auctioned €1 billion worth of Government bonds in the largest ever debt auction held by an Irish institution.
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) auction of its new benchmark 3.25 per cent Treasury Bond maturing in 2009 was 2.3 times oversubscribed.
The average yield on the €1 billion sold in the auction was 3.37 per cent. The NTMA stated that it intends to continue to increase the size of the bond through further auctions until it reaches €5 billion.
The NTMA said the bond should continue to be attractive for investors because of the positive background of stable public finances in Ireland, with a debt/GDP ratio of 34 percent and a projected general government budget deficit of 0.7 per cent of GDP this year.