The National Treasury Management Agency says it has raised €5 billion through the issue of a new Irish Government bond.
This represents a quarter of the €20 billion the NTMA plans to raise this year for the Exchequer. Chief executive John Corrigan said the issue left the NTMA in a 'very comfortable position' on funding.
The NTMA said the bond attracted orders of €7 billion, and 86% of the issue was taken up by overseas investors. It says this reflects increased confidence by international investors in Government bonds.
The bond, which will mature in just under 11 years, has an interest rate of 5% and a yield of just under 5.1%. This is 1.62 points above the equivalent benchmark German bond. The NTMA said the gap in June last year was 2.44 points.
This gap, or spread, is closely watched as an indicator of how willing investors are to buy the Government's bonds, and how expensive it is for the State to borrow.
Today's bond issue was done through a syndicated deal involving six banks.
