Bond auctions to begin in March

THE debt-raising arm of the Government hopes to start bond auctions in March and aims to raise around €10 billion from such sales, ideally held monthly, a senior official said yesterday.

Ireland’s National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has had to step up borrowing this year to fund a widening budget deficit.

After raising €10bn via two syndicated issues in January and February, it aims to raise a further €15bn by the end of the year, mostly via the auctions.