The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has announced its auction schedule for the first quarter of 2016.
There will be one bond auction, which will take place on February 11th subject to market conditions. Details will be announced on February 8th.
A Treasury bill auction will also be held during the quarter. This will take place on March 10th. Details will be announced on March 7th.
The NTMA raised €3bn last week through the syndicated sale of a new 10-year benchmark Treasury Bond, maturing in May 2026.
Investec said the sale attracted strong demand, with the order book amounting to €9.6bn across over 160 orders.
Some 88 per cent of the new bond was taken up by overseas investors (UK 32 per cent, Nordics 13 per cent, Germany 11 per cent).
The main investor categories were fund managers (37 per cent), banks (22 per cent), pension funds and insurance companies (17 per cent) and central banks (14 per cent). The balance was spread across hedge funds, corporates and others.
The NTMA outlined in December its plans to raise between €6bn and €10bn on the bond markets in 2016, so the sale has brought the agency half-way to the minimum point of that target range.
Investec said the timing of the auction was “worth noting” due to the likelihood of a general election around that period.
“On the February auction, it is worth noting that Ireland looks set to hold a general election next month, which may impact on Sovereign yields should polls point to an uncertain outcome,” it said in a note.
“Media tipsters are suggesting a polling day of Friday 26 February but we think this is unlikely, given that a Friday election day would facilitate more student voting – and opinion polls suggest that this age cohort is the least likely to support the government.
“Our bet is that the election is more likely to be held on either Thursday the 11th (the day the NTMA proposes to go to the markets) or the 18th. Like other Irish economy watchers, we will be closely monitoring opinion polls over the coming weeks.”
