More than €127m of government bonds outstanding

Of bonds due to mature in the next 5 years, nonresidents hold 64.4%

The nominal value outstanding of government bonds stood at €127.2 billion in March 2017, an increase of €674 million on February.

According to data from the Central Bank, estimated nonresident holdings increased over the month by €476 million to €71.8 billion.

Within the next five years €54.9 billion of government bonds will mature, with over 53 per cent of those due to mature in the next three years. Nonresidents hold 64.4 per cent of those maturing bonds.

The largest amount of Irish resident holdings are held by credit institutions and the Central Bank – both of whom hold €52 billion worth of long-term bonds.

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Nonbank financial institutions hold the second largest amount of bonds with €2.6 billion, while central government holds €390 million of bonds, down from a height of €650 million in July 2016.

Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in business