Permanent TSB has raised €300 million of unsecured debt on the market, the first unguaranteed debt transaction by the bank since before the crash in 2007.

The issuance of three-year senior unsecured medium term notes marks a significant step in the bank’s re-entry into wholesale markets.

“This is a milestone for us to get a benchmark trade of this size completed,” PTSB group treasurer Paul Byrne said.

“ It further builds on the momentum of last week’s positive actions by the ratings agencies, the successful execution of the capital raise and the strides we have made in deleveraging our non-core assets,” he added.

Retail shareholders in the bank, meanwhile, have subscribed for 479,954 new shares in the company under the terms of an open offer, which formed part of the bank’s €525 million recent capital raise.

The shares were priced at €4.50 each, raising €2.16 million for PTSB. The take-up represented 17.5 per cent of the 2.7 million shares that were offered to retail shareholders, who between them owned 0.8 per cent of the company prior to PTSB’s fundraising exercise.

This involved PTSB raising €400 million through the sale of 88.9 million shares to a group of private investors, and €125 million via a debt instrument.

In addition, the Government sold 21.8 million shares for €98 million. All of this had the effect of reducing the State’s holding in PTSB to 75 per cent from the 99.2 per cent previously.

PTSB offered the stock to retail shareholders at the same price as it had to the group private investors last month.

The new shares will trade on the main stock markets in Dublin and London and the total number of PTSB ordinary shares in issue is now 454.7 million.

The funds from the capital raising were used to plug a €125 million hole in its capital, identified in regulatory stress tests last October, and to pay €410.5 million to the Government through the repurchase of the State’s contingent capital notes.