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For more information on this release:
E-mail: bop@cso.ie John Sheridan (+353) 1 498 4258 Annette Hayes (+353) 1 498 4319
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5317
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Quarterly International Investment Position and External Debt

Quarter 4 2015

     € billion
 30 Sep 201531 Dec 2015
 AssetsLiabilitiesNETAssetsLiabilitiesNET
General Government11.3133.8-122.610.8131.3-120.5
Monetary Authority18.918.90.020.919.31.7
Monetary Financial Institutions741.5702.439.1782.6732.849.8
Other Financial Intermediaries2,178.92,125.953.02,312.42,260.851.6
Non-Financial Companies648.0776.8-128.8746.1878.0-131.9
Total 3,598.53,757.8-159.33,872.84,022.2-149.4

Net IIP liability of €149 billion at end-December 2015

International Investment Position and External Debt December 2015 Figure 1
go to full release

 

At 31st December 2015, Ireland’s quarterly international investment position (IIP) results show overall stocks of foreign financial assets of €3,873bn – an increase of €274bn on the end-September 2015 level, while the corresponding stocks of foreign financial liabilities increased by €264bn to €4,022bn over the quarter. Irish residents had an overall net foreign liability of €149bn at end-December 2015, a decrease of €10bn on the net foreign liability level at end-September 2015 – see Table 1a.

 

 

 

Some points of note in the Quarter 4 2015 IIP are:

  • Direct investment abroad increased by €67bn to €729bn. Equity capital (including reinvested earnings) increased €67bn while other capital increased €0.3bn – see Table 3a.
  • Foreign assets of Other Financial Intermediaries increased by €134bn. With foreign liabilities increasing by €135bn the resulting net liability decreased to €52bn - see Table 1b.
  • Foreign assets of Monetary Authorities increased by €2bn while foreign liabilities increased by €0.4bn. The resulting net liability increased to €1.7bn – see Table 1b.
X-axis labelGeneral GovernmentMonetary Financial IntermediariesOther Financial IntermediariesNon-Financial Companies
30 Sep 2015456478496651
31 Dec 2015499488489679

With the implementation of the new methodology in June 2014 for Portfolio Investment assets, equity and debt instruments (see table 3a for this breakdown), the sector of the non-resident issuer is collected. Analysing this data shows that Irish residents hold debt as follows:

  • €499bn issued by foreign Governments
  • €488bn issued by foreign Monetary Financial Institutions (including Money Market Investment Funds)
  • €489bn issued by foreign Other Financial Intermediaries (including Non-Money Market Investment Funds)
  • €679bn issued by foreign Non-Financial Companies

The data shown are consistent with that transmitted bi-annually to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for their Coordinated Portfolio Investment Survey (CPIS). More information and comparable country data are available http://cpis.imf.org/

These results are also consistent with the national annual Resident Holdings of Portfolio Investment release.

X-axis labelDirect InvestmentPortfolio InvestmentOther InvestmentReserve AssetsNet IIP
Q1 2014132.8-219.4-117.81.2-203.2
Q2 2014154.2-263.2-100.71.2-208.6
Q3 2014168.1-279.4-95.51.3-205.5
Q4 2014211.3-326.8-831.4-197.1
Q1 2015387-529.8-43.91.6-184.9
Q2 2015376.2-501.1-38.51.9-161.5
Q3 2015327.4-457.5-311.9-159.3
Q4 2015328.8-523.2432-149.4

Figure 3 shows the net IIP over time along with the contribution of each instrument type to it. We can see that in the last eight quarters direct investment has a positive contribution while portfolio investment has a negative contribution. For other investment in the previous seven quarters it had a reducing negative contribution while this quarter it has a positive contribution. Reserve assets have a positive contribution but this is very small relative to the other instrument types.

X-axis labelDirect InvestmentOther SectorsMonetary Financial InstitutionsMonetary AuthorityGeneral Government
31 Mar 2015410.919900.079243.4434.269132.794
30 Jun 2015432.057896.016229.59726.872134.005
30 Sep 2015401.653880.273213.88618.869133.459
31 Dec 2015466.541923.129207.88919.287130.883

Gross External Debt 1 is €1.75 trillion at end-December 2015 

At 31st December 2015, the gross external debt of all resident sectors (i.e. general government, the monetary authority, financial and non-financial corporations and households) amounted to €1,748bn. This represents an increase of €100bn in the stock of financial liabilities to non-residents (other than those arising from issues of Irish equities and derivatives contracts) compared to the level shown at 30th September 2015 (€1,648bn) – see Table 6a. Points of note are:

  • General government foreign borrowing decreased by €2.6bn to €131bn at end-December 2015.
  • Liabilities of the Monetary Authority consisting entirely of short term loans and deposits amounted to €19.3bn. These liabilities are to the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and include balances in the TARGET2 settlement system of the ESCB.
  • Debt liabilities of Monetary financial institutions (credit institutions and money market funds) were €208bn at end-December 2015, a decrease of €6bn on the end-September 2015 stock level.
  • The liabilities of Other sectors at €923bn increased €43bn on the previous quarter. Short term debt increased by €13bn while long term debt increased by €30bn.
  • Direct investment liabilities increased by €65bn to €467bn in the quarter.

The Net External Debt position was -€1,070bn at end-December 2015 i.e. assets exceeded liabilities. This reflects the fact that while two thirds of the assets of Investment Funds are included, the bulk of their liabilities (being equity securities) are excluded from Net External Debt – see Table 6b.

1Gross external debt represents the stock of Ireland's liabilities to non-residents other than equity and financial derivatives.

Table 1(a) International Investment Position (IIP) classified by Financial Instrument€ million
ItemQ3 2013Q4 2013Q1 2014Q2 2014Q3 2014Q4 2014Q1 2015Q2 2015Q3 2015Q4 2015
Foreign Assets          
  Direct Investment Abroad 1335,132390,651400,936435,069475,372522,824714,072701,856661,362728,776
  Portfolio Investment1,593,6781,625,3841,686,8821,749,3441,871,2691,935,1182,155,2942,121,0122,038,4552,155,301
  Other Investment 2834,856791,672807,206825,465859,668871,308957,099930,075896,846986,698
  Reserve Assets1,2131,1781,1921,2061,2501,4261,6371,9091,8722,013
  Total Foreign Assets2,764,8792,808,8852,896,2163,011,0843,207,5593,330,6763,828,1023,754,8523,598,5353,872,788
           
Foreign Liabilities          
  Direct Investment in Ireland 1284,508284,907268,155280,914307,285311,508327,025325,635334,007400,009
  Portfolio Investment1,805,3241,859,4761,906,2422,012,5842,150,6242,261,9372,685,0472,622,1302,495,9712,678,497
  Other Investment 2914,353886,881925,045926,165955,135954,3331,000,951968,570927,817943,714
  Total Foreign Liabilities 3,004,1853,031,2643,099,4423,219,6633,413,0443,527,7784,013,0233,916,3353,757,7954,022,220
           
Net International Investment Position (IIP)          
  Direct Investment 150,624105,744132,781154,155168,087211,316387,047376,221327,355328,767
  Portfolio Investment-211,646-234,092-219,360-263,240-279,355-326,819-529,753-501,118-457,516-523,196
  Other Investment 2-79,497-95,209-117,839-100,700-95,467-83,025-43,852-38,495-30,97142,984
  Reserve Assets1,2131,1781,1921,2061,2501,4261,6371,9091,8722,013
           
  Total (Net IIP)-239,306-222,379-203,226-208,579-205,485-197,102-184,921-161,483-159,260-149,432
1Reflecting the so-called directional principle for reclassifying Direct Investment (see background notes).
2Includes financial derivatives and trade credits; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents.
Table 1(b) International Investment Position (IIP) classified by Institutional Sector € million
ItemQ3 2013Q4 2013Q1 2014Q2 2014Q3 2014Q4 2014Q1 2015Q2 2015Q3 2015Q4 2015
Foreign Assets          
  General Government17,11317,95416,50713,06313,76210,84410,79811,03811,28810,785
  Monetary Authority 120,28720,40120,54320,61220,76220,78118,98018,72618,86320,945
  Monetary Financial Institutions 2633,278605,385713,310722,683743,160749,588805,544742,095741,463782,571
  Other Sectors 32,094,2022,165,1452,145,8572,254,7262,429,8752,549,4622,992,7782,982,9922,826,9213,058,487
    of which:          
      Other Financial Intermediaries1,773,9441,785,7351,750,7151,824,7051,963,1942,031,6622,288,9602,294,8972,178,8762,312,388
      Non-Financial Companies4320,258379,410395,142430,021466,681517,800703,818688,095648,045746,099
Total Foreign Assets2,764,8792,808,8852,896,2163,011,0843,207,5593,330,6763,828,1023,754,8523,598,5353,872,788
          
Foreign Liabilities          
  General Government129,794126,038129,664131,933134,373130,574132,794134,005133,844131,294
  Monetary Authority 172,68771,59461,79044,85439,24438,75834,26926,87218,86919,287
  Monetary Financial Institutions 2642,642617,348691,413699,088729,737718,979764,373702,766702,403732,821
  Other Sectors 32,159,0632,216,2852,216,5782,343,7882,509,6922,639,4683,081,5883,052,6942,902,6793,138,818
    of which:          
      Other Financial Intermediaries1,722,3251,730,8381,712,4121,795,3651,917,1921,993,2412,254,2982,240,4952,125,8822,260,797
      Non-Financial Companies4436,738485,447504,166548,423592,500646,227827,290812,199776,797878,021
Total Foreign Liabilities 3,004,1853,031,2643,099,4423,219,6633,413,0443,527,7784,013,0233,916,3353,757,7954,022,220
          
Net International Investment Position (IIP)          
  General Government-112,681 -108,084 -113,157 -118,870 -120,611 -119,729 -121,996 -122,967 -122,556 -120,509
  Monetary Authority1-52,400 -51,193 -41,247 -24,242 -18,482 -17,977 -15,289 -8,146 -6 1,658
  Monetary Financial Institutions 2-9,364 -11,963 21,89723,59513,42330,60941,17139,32939,06049,750
  Other Sectors 3-64,861 -51,140 -70,721 -89,062 -79,817 -90,006 -88,810 -69,702 -75,758 -80,331
    of which:          
      Other Financial Intermediaries51,61954,89738,30329,34046,00238,42134,66254,40252,99451,591
      Non-Financial Companies4-116,480 -106,037 -109,024 -118,402 -125,819 -128,427 -123,472 -124,104 -128,752 -131,922
Total (Net IIP)-239,306 -222,379 -203,226 -208,579 -205,485 -197,102 -184,921 -161,483 -159,260 -149,432
1Central Bank of Ireland.
2Covering licensed credit institutions and money market funds.
3Other sectors includes financial corporations other than the Monetary Authority and Monetary Financial Institutions, non-financial service and manufacturing
companies and other industrial enterprises as well as (implicitly) households (see Background Notes). The gross liabilities to non-residents of financial
corporations covered in other sectors tend to be very significant.
4Including households.
Table 2 International Investment Position (IIP) - IFSC and non-IFSC activity by Institutional Sector € million
 30 Sep 2015 31 Dec 2015
ItemIFSCnon-IFSCTotal IFSCnon-IFSCTotal
Foreign Assets       
  General Government011,28811,288 010,78510,785
  Monetary Authority 1018,86318,863 020,94520,945
  Monetary Financial Institutions 2665,71575,748741,463 708,00374,568782,571
  Other Sectors 32,064,022762,8992,826,921 2,188,735869,7523,058,487
    of which:       
      Other Financial Intermediaries2,064,022114,8542,178,876 2,188,735123,6532,312,388
      Non-Financial Companies40648,045648,045 0746,099746,099
Total Foreign Assets2,729,737868,7983,598,535 2,896,738976,0503,872,788
        
Foreign Liabilities       
  General Government0133,844133,844 0131,294131,294
  Monetary Authority 1018,86918,869 019,28719,287
  Monetary Financial Institutions 2619,29183,112702,403 657,09175,730732,821
  Other Sectors 32,137,515765,1642,902,679 2,261,999876,8193,138,818
    of which:       
      Other Financial Intermediaries2,137,515-11,633 2,125,882 2,261,999-1,202 2,260,797
      Non-Financial Companies40776,797776,797 0878,021878,021
Total Foreign Liabilities 2,756,8061,000,9893,757,795 2,919,0901,103,1304,022,220
       
Net International Investment Position (IIP)       
  General Government0-122,556 -122,556  0-120,509 -120,509
  Monetary Authority 10-6 -6  01,6581,658
  Monetary Financial Institutions 246,424-7,364 39,060 50,912-1,162 49,750
  Other Sectors 3-73,493 -2,265 -75,758  -73,264 -7,067 -80,331
    of which:       
      Other Financial Intermediaries-73,493 126,48752,994 -73,264 124,85551,591
      Non-Financial Companies40-128,752 -128,752  0-131,922 -131,922
Total (Net IIP)-27,069 -132,191 -159,260  -22,352 -127,080 -149,432
1Central Bank of Ireland.
2Covering licensed credit institutions and money market funds.
3Other sectors includes financial corporations other than the Monetary Authority and Monetary Financial Institutions, non-financial
service and manufacturing companies and other industrial enterprises as well as (implicitly) households (see Background Notes).
The gross liabilities to non-residents of financial corporations covered in other sectors tend to be very significant.
4Including households.
Table 3(a) International Investment Position (IIP) - Detailed Data  € million
ItemQ1 2015Q2 2015Q3 2015Q4 2015
Foreign Assets    
  Direct Investment Abroad 1714,072701,856661,362728,776
    Equity capital and reinvested earnings 635,795643,624584,238651,373
    Other capital78,27758,23177,12477,403
     
  Portfolio Investment 2,155,2942,121,0122,038,4552,155,301
    Equity 851,319860,192798,161845,290
        Monetary authority 20000
        General government3,9713,3573,3954,002
        Monetary financial institutions 33,2263,2582,5632,454
        Other sectors844,122853,578792,203838,834
     
    Debt instruments1,303,9751,260,8191,240,2941,310,011
      Bonds and notes853,950840,705841,796881,412
        Monetary authority 213,51714,56014,69415,607
        General government605569573570
        Monetary financial institutions 3119,743115,192110,883121,174
        Other sectors720,084710,382715,646744,061
     
      Money market instruments450,026420,115398,498428,599
        Monetary authority 23,1522,0901,9352,395
        General government0000
        Monetary financial institutions 3310,615285,588301,440326,133
        Other sectors136,259132,43795,123100,071
     
  Other Investment 957,099930,075896,846986,698
    Loans, currency and deposits692,274671,025654,655695,362
        Monetary authority 2674167362930
        General government5,7795,5365,1984,538
        Monetary financial institutions 3296,294277,383265,105263,674
        Other sectors389,527387,937383,990426,220
     
    Trade Credits42,00543,38639,73744,452
        General government0000
        Other sectors42,00543,38639,73744,452
     
    Other assets 4222,821215,664202,454246,884
        Monetary authority 20000
        General government3131,4441,9921,544
        Monetary financial institutions 371,64656,81858,09864,945
        Other sectors150,862157,402142,364180,395
     
  Reserve assets1,6371,9091,8722,013
    Monetary gold201191183178
    Special drawing rights836818815829
    Reserve Position in the IMF332325324329
    Foreign Exchange4333
    Other264572547674
     
Total Foreign Assets3,828,1023,754,8523,598,5353,872,788
1Reflecting the so-called directional principle for reclassifying Direct Investment (see background notes).
2Central Bank of Ireland.
3Covering licensed credit institutions and money market funds.
4Includes financial derivatives.
Table 3(b) International Investment Position (IIP) - Detailed Data  € million
ItemQ1 2015Q2 2015Q3 2015Q4 2015
Foreign Liabilities   
  Direct Investment in Ireland 1327,025325,635334,007400,009
    Equity capital and reinvested earnings 355,681363,321382,201413,219
    Other capital-28,657-37,685-48,194-13,210
     
  Portfolio Investment 2,685,0472,622,1302,495,9712,678,497
    Equity 2,341,8002,274,8092,149,2592,315,600
        Monetary authority 20000
        General government0000
        Monetary financial institutions 3435,262397,610414,806454,975
        Other sectors1,906,5381,877,1991,734,4531,860,625
     
    Debt instruments343,247347,321346,712362,897
      Bonds and notes327,101331,731328,858344,091
        Monetary authority 20000
        General government73,65275,28576,04475,181
        Monetary financial institutions 329,46229,50630,02727,973
        Other sectors223,987226,940222,787240,937
     
      Money market instruments16,14715,58917,85418,806
        Monetary authority 20000
        General government4,7324,0412,8821,051
        Monetary financial institutions 37,5437,64111,08612,926
        Other sectors3,8713,9063,8864,829
     
  Other Investment 1,000,951968,570927,817943,714
    Loans, currency and deposits535,988511,569478,291487,464
        Monetary authority 234,26926,87218,86919,287
        General government54,41054,57254,53354,652
        Monetary financial institutions 3198,013186,876164,482158,064
        Other sectors249,296243,250240,407255,461
     
    Trade Credits17,81117,54617,59720,870
        General government0000
        Other sectors17,81117,54617,59720,870
     
    Other liabilities 4447,152439,455431,929435,380
        Monetary authority20000
        General government0106253278
        Monetary financial institutions 341,75134,45135,36233,942
        Other sectors405,401404,898396,314401,160
     
Total Foreign Liabilities4,013,0233,916,3353,757,7954,022,220
1Reflecting the so-called directional principle for reclassifying Direct Investment (see background notes).
2Central Bank of Ireland.
3Covering licensed credit institutions and money market funds.
4Includes financial derivatives and also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents.
Table 4 International Investment Position (IIP) showing IFSC and non–IFSC activity  € million
ItemQ1 2015Q2 2015Q3 2015Q4 2015
Foreign Assets    
  Direct Investment Abroad 1714,072701,856661,362728,776
    - IFSC37,12040,49540,89842,481
    - Non-IFSC676,952661,361620,464686,295
  Portfolio Investment2,155,2942,121,0122,038,4552,155,301
    - IFSC2,004,9881,976,6431,902,8662,015,289
    - Non-IFSC150,306144,369135,589140,012
  Other Investment 2957,099930,075896,846986,698
    - IFSC837,009808,456785,973838,968
    - Non-IFSC120,090121,619110,873147,730
  Reserve Assets1,6371,9091,8722,013
    - IFSC0000
    - Non-IFSC1,6371,9091,8722,013
Total Foreign Assets3,828,1023,754,8523,598,5353,872,788
    - IFSC2,879,1172,825,5942,729,7372,896,738
    - Non-IFSC948,985929,258868,798976,050
     
Foreign Liabilities    
  Direct Investment in Ireland 1327,025325,635334,007400,009
    - IFSC125,636124,119108,638133,344
    - Non-IFSC201,389201,516225,369266,665
  Portfolio Investment2,685,0472,622,1302,495,9712,678,497
    - IFSC2,030,0251,985,6461,912,2042,037,465
    - Non-IFSC655,022636,484583,767641,032
  Other Investment 21,000,951968,570927,817943,714
    - IFSC774,446749,965735,964748,281
    - Non-IFSC226,505218,605191,853195,433
Total Foreign Liabilities 4,013,0233,916,3353,757,7954,022,220
    - IFSC2,930,1072,859,7302,756,8062,919,090
    - Non-IFSC1,082,9161,056,6051,000,9891,103,130
     
Net International Investment Position (IIP)    
  Direct Investment 1387,047376,221327,355328,767
    - IFSC-88,516-83,624-67,740-90,863
    - Non-IFSC475,563459,845395,095419,630
  Portfolio Investment-529,753-501,118-457,516-523,196
    - IFSC-25,037-9,003-9,338-22,176
    - Non-IFSC-504,716-492,115-448,178-501,020
  Other Investment 2-43,852-38,495-30,97142,984
    - IFSC62,56358,49150,00990,687
    - Non-IFSC-106,415-96,986-80,980-47,703
  Reserve Assets1,6371,9091,8722,013
    - IFSC0000
    - Non-IFSC1,6371,9091,8722,013
Total (Net IIP)-184,921-161,483-159,260-149,432
    - IFSC-50,990-34,136-27,069-22,352
    - Non-IFSC-133,931-127,347-132,191-127,080
1Reflecting the so-called directional principle for reclassifying Direct Investment (see background notes).
2Includes financial derivatives and trade credits; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance
liabilities to non-residents.
Table 5 International Investment Position (IIP) - 31 December 2015 - Reconciliation of IIP and BOP Flows € million
ItemOpening Position 01/10/15 Bop Flows in Quarter Valuation and Other Changes Closing Position 31/12/15
Foreign Assets       
        
  Direct Investment Abroad 1661,362 7,195 60,219 728,776
    Equity capital and reinvested earnings 584,238 6,595 60,540 651,373
    Other capital77,124 600 -321  77,403
        
  Portfolio Investment 2,038,455 65,312 51,534 2,155,301
    Equity 798,161 3,309 43,820 845,290
    Debt instruments 1,240,294 62,003 7,714 1,310,011
      Bonds and notes841,796 32,961 6,655 881,412
      Money market instruments398,498 29,042 1,059 428,599
        
  Other Investment 896,846 71,817 18,035 986,698
    Loans, currency and deposits654,656 36,319 4,387 695,362
    Other 2242,190 35,498 13,648 291,336
        
  Reserve Assets1,872 103 38 2,013
        
Total Foreign Assets3,598,535 144,427 129,826 3,872,788
        
Foreign Liabilities       
        
  Direct Investment in Ireland 1334,007 65,267 735 400,009
    Equity capital and reinvested earnings 382,201 30,106 912 413,219
    Other capital-48,194  35,161 -177  -13,210
        
  Portfolio Investment 2,495,971 76,313 106,213 2,678,497
    Equity 2,149,259 66,357 99,984 2,315,600
    Debt instruments 346,712 9,956 6,229 362,897
      Bonds and notes328,858 9,101 6,132 344,091
      Money market instruments17,854 855 97 18,806
        
  Other Investment 927,817 -3,755  19,652 943,714
    Loans, currency and deposits478,291 8,752 421 487,464
    Other 2449,526 -12,506  19,230 456,250
        
Total Foreign Liabilities3,757,795 137,825 126,600 4,022,220
1Reflecting the so-called directional principle for reclassifying Direct Investment (see background notes).
2Includes financial derivatives and trade credits; in the case of liabilities this category also includes life insurance liabilities to non-residents.
Table 6(a) Gross External Debt1€ million
30 Sep 2015 31 Dec 2015
ItemIFSC non-IFSC Total IFSC non-IFSC Total
General Government0 133,459 133,459 0 130,883 130,883
  Short-term0 5,411 5,411 0 3,599 3,599
    Money market instruments0 2,882 2,882 0 1,051 1,051
    Loans0 2,529 2,529 0 2,548 2,548
  Long-term 0 128,048 128,048 0 127,284 127,284
    Bonds and notes0 76,044 76,044 0 75,181 75,181
    Loans0 52,004 52,004 0 52,103 52,103
            
Monetary Authority 20 18,869 18,869 0 19,287 19,287
  Short-term0 18,869 18,869 0 19,287 19,287
    Loans and deposits0 18,869 18,869 0 19,287 19,287
  Long-term 0 0 0 0 0 0
    Other debt liabilities0 0 0 0 0 0
            
Monetary Financial Institutions 3163,269 50,617 213,886 162,583 45,306 207,889
  Short-term* * 153,856 * * 143,692
    Money market instruments* * 11,086 * * 12,926
    Loans and deposits102,064 40,706 142,770 93,657 37,109 130,766
  Long-term * * 60,030 * * 64,197
    Bonds and notes21,351 8,676 30,027 21,588 6,385 27,973
    Loans20,684 1,028 21,712 25,631 1,667 27,298
    Other debt liabilities* * 8,291 * * 8,926
            
Other Sectors 4805,847 74,426 880,273 842,603 80,525 923,128
  Short-term* * 116,433 * * 129,274
    Money market instruments* * 3,886 * * 4,829
    Loans and deposits85,043 9,907 94,950 90,121 13,454 103,575
    Trade credits 8,452 9,145 17,597 11,400 9,470 20,870
  Long-term * * 763,840 * * 793,854
    Bonds and notes* * 222,787 * * 240,937
    Loans119,603 25,854 145,457 124,790 27,095 151,885
    Other debt liabilities371,385 24,211 395,596 375,819 25,213 401,032
            
Direct Investment 5164,565 237,088 401,653 209,537 257,004 466,541
    Debt liabilities to affiliated enterprises 4,552 104,646 109,198 4,527 108,825 113,352
    Debt liabilities to direct investors160,013 132,442 292,455 205,010 148,179 353,189
            
Gross External Debt1,133,681 514,459 1,648,140 1,214,723 533,005 1,747,728
1Gross external debt represents the stock of Ireland's liabilities to non-residents other than equity and financial derivatives.
2Central Bank of Ireland.
3Covering licensed credit institutions and money market funds.
4Other sectors includes financial corporations other than the Monetary Authority and Monetary Financial Institutions,
non-financial service and manufacturing companies and other industrial enterprises as well as (implicitly)
households (see Background Notes). The gross liabilities to non-residents of financial corporations covered in other sectors
tend to be very significant.
5Covering inter affiliate loans, non-equity securities, trade credits and other debt liabilities. Debt liabilities to affiliated
enterprises refers to direct investment abroad while debt liabilities to direct investorsrefers to direct investment in Ireland.
*Suppressed for confidentiality reasons.
Table 6(b) External Assets in Debt Instruments 1€ million
30 Sep 201531 Dec 2015
ItemIFSC non-IFSC Total IFSC non-IFSC Total
General Government0 5,771 5,771 0 5,108 5,108
  Short-term0 3,668 3,668 0 3,009 3,009
    Money market instruments0 0 0 0 0 0
    Loans and Deposits0 3,668 3,668 0 3,009 3,009
  Long-term 0 2,103 2,103 0 2,099 2,099
    Bonds and notes0 573 573 0 570 570
    Loans0 1,530 1,530 0 1,529 1,529
            
Monetary Authority 20 16,991 16,991 0 18,932 18,932
  Short-term0 2,297 2,297 0 3,325 3,325
    Money market instruments0 1,935 1,935 0 2,395 2,395
    Loans and deposits0 362 362 0 930 930
  Long-term 0 14,694 14,694 0 15,607 15,607
    Bonds and notes0 14,694 14,694 0 15,607 15,607
            
Monetary Financial Institutions 3646,004 66,783 712,787 689,441 64,857 754,298
  Short-term* * 536,077 * * 559,817
    Money market instruments* * 301,440 * * 326,133
    Loans and deposits194,376 40,261 234,637 194,362 39,322 233,684
  Long-term * * 176,710 * * 194,481
    Bonds and notes92,974 17,909 110,883 104,248 16,926 121,174
    Loans22,944 7,524 30,468 22,282 7,708 29,990
    Other debt Assets* * 35,359 * * 43,317
            
Other Sectors 41,278,447 86,259 1,364,706 1,356,355 124,732 1,481,087
  Short-term254,127 35,372 289,499 290,685 38,553 329,238
    Money market instruments94,236 887 95,123 99,424 647 100,071
    Loans and deposits137,962 16,677 154,639 168,600 16,115 184,715
    Trade credit assets 21,929 17,808 39,737 22,661 21,791 44,452
  Long-term 1,024,320 50,887 1,075,207 1,065,670 86,179 1,151,849
    Bonds and notes* * 715,646 * * 744,061
    Loans* * 229,353 * * 241,507
    Other debt Assets124,658 5,550 130,208 125,618 40,663 166,281
            
Direct Investment 5212,247 314,724 526,971 237,245 319,909 557,154
    Debt asset claims on affiliated enterprises5,301 181,021 186,322 5,404 185,351 190,755
    Debt asset claims on direct investors206,946 133,703 340,649 231,841 134,558 366,399
            
Reserve Assets0 550 550 0 677 677
            
External Assets in Debt Instruments2,136,698 491,078 2,627,776 2,283,041 534,215 2,817,256
            
Net External Debt 6-1,003,017 23,381 -979,636 -1,068,318 -1,210 -1,069,528
1External Assets in Debt Instruments represents the stock of Ireland's claims on non-residents other than equity and financial derivatives.
2Central Bank of Ireland.
3Covering licensed credit institutions and money market funds.
4Other sectors includes financial corporations other than the Monetary Authority and Monetary Financial Institutions, non-financial service
and manufacturing companies and other industrial enterprises as well as (implicitly) households (see Background Notes).
The gross claims on non-residents of financial corporations covered in other sectors tend to be very significant.
5Covering inter affiliate loans, non-equity securities, trade credits and other debt assets. Debt claims on affiliated enterprises refers to
direct investment abroad while debt claims on direct investors refers to direct investment in Ireland.
6Net External Debt equals Gross External Debt (from table 6a) minus External Assets in Debt Instruments. A negative sign indicates a net
Asset position.
*Data suppressed for confidentiality reasons.

Background Notes

Definition

The international investment position (or IIP) is a point in time statistical statement of: the value and composition of the stock of an economy’s foreign financial assets, or the economy’s claims on the rest of the world, and the value and composition of the stock of an economy’s financial liabilities (or obligations) to the rest of the world.

The IMF External Debt Manual defines external debt to be a point in time statistical statement of the value and composition of the stock of an economy’s gross foreign financial liabilities to the rest of the world. The liabilities referred to cover those arising from Irish residents issuing debt securities such as bonds, notes and money market instruments to non-residents, as well as any loans received from and outstanding to non-residents, and any trade payables due to non-residents. In essence, external debt refers to financial obligations to non-residents other than those arising from transactions in equity or financial derivative contracts.

For more detailed methodological information see Quarterly International Investment Position and External Debt - Background Notes Quarterly International Investment Position and External Debt - Background Notes (PDF 298KB)  

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