THE GOVERNMENT has raised €1.5 billion in short-term debt securities in the first sale of Irish treasury bills to investors.

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) is aiming to raise €10 billion from the short-term funding securities this year.

The NTMA sold one, three and six-month bills and raised €500 million on each “line” of bills sold.

The focus of the NTMA borrowing efforts is in the turbulent longer-term bond markets in which it has so far raised €11 billion of a record €25 million that it expects to borrow in the international bond markets this year.

The UK failed to find enough buyers for £1.75 billion (€1.9 billion) of bonds for the first time in almost seven years as debt investors rejected the British government’s plan to stem the worst economic crisis in three decades.

The treasury bills were oversubscribed by investors by up to 2.9 times, with the strongest interest coming in the three-month bills, the most traded debt security in this market.