A round-up of today's business news in brief

NTMA raises 5bn from 10-year bond

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) raised €5 billion yesterday from a bond maturing in October 2020.

The 10-year bond was issued at a yield that is 1.62 per cent higher than the cost of the equivalent German bond.

This compares with the equivalent of 2.44 per cent over the German bond on a 10-year bond issued by the NTMA last June.

NTMA chief executive John Corrigan said the bond issue accounted for one-quarter of the Government’s €20 billion funding requirement for this year.

Greenstar appoints chief executive

NTR’s US waste business, Greenstar North America, has appointed former hedge fund partner Michael Simmons as its chief executive officer.

Mr Simmons recently joined the company from Q Investments, where he was a senior operating partner.

Q Investments is a “multi- billion dollar, multi-strategy” fund. Mr Simmons also spent 20 years at GE, where he held positions in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, business development and operations.

Irish-based NTR has invested $710 million in its US business, about half of that in recycling.

IL&P seeking to generate capital

Irish Life & Permanent is close to generating €200 million in capital from the securitisation of part of its life assurance book, which will be used to boost the capital reserves of the company’s loss-making banking division, Permanent TSB.

The company has estimated that it will need about €500 million in additional capital to absorb mounting loan losses in the bank.

AIB appoints Somers to board

Allied Irish Banks (AIB) has appointed Dr Michael Somers as a non-executive director. He will assume the role of deputy chairman of AIB.

Dr Somers, the former chief executive of the National Treasury Management Agency, has been appointed to the board under the terms of the Government’s recapitalisation of the bank with €3.5 billion from the pension reserve.