Irish May Try Bond Sale After ECB Long-Term Loans, Goodbody Says
February 08, 2012, 7:01 PM ESTBy Joe Brennan
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Ireland may try an “opportunistic” bond sale should its debt continue a two-and-a-half-month rally after the European Central Bank floods banks with a second round of three-year loans on Feb. 29, according to Dublin-based Goodbody Stockbrokers.
“With the two-year Irish yield now around 4.3 percent, the National Treasury Management Agency could try a bond sale if the yield got dipped below 4 percent after the ECB’s second long- term refinancing operation at the end of the month,” said Dermot O’Leary, chief economist at Goodbody in a phone interview. “Their first time back in the market is likely to be a syndicated issue, rather than risk an auction.”
“I’m sure the NTMA are doing the preparations as we speak, given the level of interest and momentum in peripheral euro-zone bonds in general, excluding Greece,” said O’Leary. Still, O’Leary said he still believes that Ireland will continue to need official funding after it is bailout program runs out in 2013, given the country’s expected deficit and refinancing needs in 2014.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Brennan in Dublin at jbrennan29@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dara Doyle at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net
