Ireland may entice investors back to bonds

IRELAND, which saw its financial system come closer to collapse than that of any euro nation, may now entice investors back to its bank bonds.

Bank of Ireland’s state-guaranteed bond maturing in 2015 is yielding about 726 basis points more than the equivalent Irish government security. Debt due the same year of state-controlled Irish Life & Permanent yields about 899 basis points more than the equivalent Irish bond.

“I’m keen to buy as much of this stuff as I can,” said Bill Blain, co-head of special situations strategy at Newedge UK Financial Ltd.