Government accelerates €10bn IMF loan repayment

The Government could pay back €10bn of the IMF bailout loans by the end of this year, according to Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV at the Dublin Web Summit, Mr Kenny said he was confident €10bn could be repaid compared with an original target of €6bn.

The NTMA raised a further €3.75bn yesterday through a 15 year bond at a yield of 2.487%. Demand for the issue reached €8.4bn with interest coming from 250 accounts, including fund managers, pension funds, insurance companies, banks, and other investors. This is the first 15-year bond issued by the NTMA since 2009. Moreover, the yield is a historical low for a bond with this maturity.