The yield on 10-year Irish bonds fell today in the wake of the news that the Government plans to split Anglo Irish Bank into two units.
By 3.50pm, the yield on the 10-year bond was 5.868 per cent. The spread over the benchmark German bund was 354 basis points.
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) sold €400 million of treasury bills at an auction today. The agency had been aiming for between €400 million and €600 million in the auction. It sold €150 million of securities due February 14th, 2011 at an average yield of 1.925 per cent, compared with 1.978 per cent in an August 26th sale. It also sold €250 million of securities due April 18th, 2011, at an average yield of 2.190 per cent, compared with 2.348 per cent at the last sale.
Investors bid for 9.4 times the February 2011 securities and 5.4 times the April 2011 debt. That compares with 10.1 times and 4.1 times at the August 26th sale, respectively.
Analysts said the auction was "better than expected".
"While the size is at the lower end of the amount offered, the bid to cover is good and more importantly the fall in the average yield since the last Treasury Bill auction was much better than anticipated given the recent trading levels," analysts at fixed-income specialist Glas Securities said.
However, the markets are still seeking clarity on the recapitalisation of Anglo.
"It will be very important that this uncertainty is addressed as soon as possible," said Simon Barry, chief economist at Ulster Bank.
Anglo's subordinated bondholders face "limited" recovery, following the Government's decision to split the nationalised lender, analysts at ING Groep NV said in a note today.
Chief financial officer Maarten van Eden said yesterday in an interview before the announcement that the Dublin-based lender has sought approval from Irish authorities to buy back subordinated debt.
On the Irish market today, bank shares gained back some ground, with AIB and Bank of Ireland both trading up on yesterday's prices. Bank of Ireland added 2.5 per cent to trade at 71.8 cent, while Irish Life and Permanent was slightly up, rising 0.5 per cent to €1.63.
After an earlier rally, AIB was off 0.3 per cent, trading at 75.4 cent by 3.45pm.
Additional reporting: Bloomberg