The Central Bank has published figures showing the amount of Irish bank debt held by senior and subordinated bondholders.
The bank said it was publishing the figures on a once-off basis in the interests of providing public information. The figures cover the six guaranteed institutions - AIB, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Life & Permanent, EBS and Irish Nationwide.
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They show that more than €20.9 billion in senior bonds has been issued under the revised government guarantee scheme, known as the Eligible Liabilities Guarantee Scheme.
The banks have issued another €19 billion in unguaranteed secured senior bonds. These are secured against bank assets, such as mortgages.
There is another €16.4 billion of senior debt which is not guaranteed and not secured against assets. AIB accounts for almost €5.9 billion of this, Bank of Ireland almost €5.2 billion and Anglo Irish just over €3 billion.
Third parties currently hold €6.9 billion in subordinated bonds. Subordinated, or junior bonds, usually pay a higher return as the lender takes a greater risk of not being re-paid. Irish banks have been buying back subordinated debt at a discount to boost their capital position.
No banks 'fire sale', says Honohan
The Governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, has said he thinks there could be movement in the coming years on the terms, particularly the interest rate, attached to Ireland's financial rescue deal with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
On RTÉ's Prime Time last night, he was asked about the Government's decision to defer drawing down the initial €10 billion earmarked for the banks. Professor Honohan said many people in the European Central Bank had to be convinced that this decision was not unreasonable.
He said he would be recommending that the capital is put in by the end of this month in light of the planned stress tests for banks. Professor Honohan said he did not believe the incoming government should feel in any way wrong-footed or bounced into it.
Professor Honohan said he would like the interest rate on the EU/IMF package to be lower. He said negotiation by the incoming government will require a lot of 'careful navigation and judgement' on what is a shared interest for Ireland and other European countries in an Irish economic growth recovery.
The Central Bank Governor said negotiation would be with Ireland for the next decade in relation to our economic situation. He said the EU/IMF package buys us time to show the world, the markets and other European partners that we can get our house in order in terms of the deficit and the banking system.
Professor Honohan said the European Central Bank knew we had to reduce the size of our banks. But he said the ECB understood that there could be no 'fire sale' losses because the State could not afford this.
He said he had not changed his views in relation to Anglo Irish Bank and the bank guarantee scheme as had been expressed in his report. He said that if the decision makers had known what we know now it would have been better not to have had to deal with Anglo.
