SSSB, which is part of Citigroup, is a major player in the euro area government bond markets, the NTMA said.

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), which manages the national debt, has named Schroder Salomon Smith Barney (SSSB) as a primary dealer in the government bond market.

This brings to seven the number of primary dealers in the bond market - Davy, NCB and AIB Capital Markets in Dublin, ABN AMRO in London, Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and Crédit Agricole Indosuez in Paris.

"The presence of SSSB will bring even further depth and liquidity to the market for Irish government bonds in the increasingly competitive euro area bond market," it added.

An NTMA spokesman said SSSB's US exposure added an extra dimension. "We hope they would use that to market the bonds in the US as well," the spokesman continued.

That the majority of market makers in the government bond market are now based overseas reflects the increasing number of non-resident investors. .

Some three-fifths of Irish bonds are now held by overseas investors compared to just one-fifth three years ago.

Primary dealers must be members of the Irish Stock Exchange and SSSB was admitted as a member, effective yesterday.

Primary dealers bid in a competitive auction of Irish Government bonds each month and they make a two-way market in the bonds at all times.