The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) has hired a group of banks and securities firms to sell up to €3 billion of 20-year bonds as it continues its drive to cover a budget gap caused by the Government's response to the Covid-19 crisis, according to sources.
The State's debt management agency said on Wednesday that it has hired Barclays, BNP Paribas, Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland, Danske Bank, JP Morgan and Nomura to manage the sale of bonds that will be due for repayment in 2041.
The NTMA did not say how much it planned to raise, but sources put the target at between €2 billion and €3 billion, with the expectation that the deal will be marketed on international bond markets on Thursday.
The agency has raised €7 billion so far this year by selling long-term bonds, with its full-year goal set between €16 billion and €20 billion.
This is the first syndicated bond deal that the NTMA has carried out since it withdrew its authorisation for Davy to act as a primary Irish Government bond dealer last month as the firm was caught up in a bond-trade scandal.
