NTMA set out road map

The Chief Executive of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) John Corrigan today set out a roadmap for Ireland’s phased re-entry to the international bond markets over the coming 18 months.

Corrigan was speaking at the annual Midyear Business Update hosted by the NTMA where he also published the Agency’s Annual Report for 2011.

In addition to the ongoing engagement between the agency and international investors, the NTMA set out three key objectives for the rest of this year and into early 2013: hold 3-4 auctions of short-term Treasury Bills; diversify its sources of funding through the first Irish sovereign issuance of amortising bonds and inflation-linked bonds; and issue its first conventional bond since September 2010.

Following the announcement Corrigan said: “For some time now the NTMA’s plan has been to carefully and deliberately re-engage with the debt markets in a phased manner.

"That process is now underway and will continue over the coming months as we increase the size and maturity of Treasury Bill issuance and introduce two new types of funding instrument specifically tailored to the needs of the domestic pensions industry. Market conditions permitting, the NTMA also plans to issue a conventional medium to long-term bond.”

Corrigan also said the NTMA was working with the Department of Finance on legislative proposals for presentation to Government to put NewERA on a statutory basis and to refocus the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) on the domestic economy.

He added: “The unifying theme behind these proposals is the making of investments on a fully commercial basis that will generate economic activity and employment.

"The aim is to use NPRF assets both directly and as a catalyst for attracting additional third-party capital and also to leverage the commercial expertise and networks available to the NTMA across its NewERA, NPRF and National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) functions to drive much needed investment in the domestic economy.”