Brokers welcome bonds issue move

THE Irish Brokers’ Association has welcomed the decision by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) to start issuing Government bonds specifically aimed at Irish-managed pension funds, but has said that the failure to remove other restrictions for the investment of funds continues to hamper economic growth.

Last year, the IBA told an Oireachtas Finance Committee that the removal of many of the restrictions on what Irish pension funds can invest in, domestically, could result in an extra €7bn being pumped into the economy over the coming years.

Their call was based on building Irish business through private equity investment, financing Government through investment in national debt and incentivising infrastructure through long-term investment.