NTMA stated that they expect that the Royal Bank of Scotland, as a primary dealer, will further enhance the depth and liquidity of the Irish government bond market. The Royal Bank of Scotland is already a market maker for Irish government bonds on the EuroMTS electronic trading platform and the NTMA is confident that the bank’s recognition as a primary dealer will give additional impetus to this market and further heighten the profile of Irish government bonds for investors.
The NTMA’s funding requirement for 2005 is in the region of around €4.5 billion. Of this, €1.5 billion will be made up of short-term issuance, mainly commercial paper, while long term issuance of €3 billion will be funded mainly through auctions of euro denominated bonds.
The addition of the Royal Bank of Scotland brings the number of primary dealers to nine. The other eight are: ABN Amro, London; AIB Capital Markets, Dublin; Barclays Capital, London; Calyon, Paris; Citigroup Global Markets, London; Davy Stockbrokers, Dublin; Deutsche Bank, Frankfurt and London; and HSBC CCF, Paris. |
