Financing the deficit - general government debt at €235.9 billion at end of Q4 2021
Gross general government debt decreased by €0.3 billion in the quarter to €235.9 billion. There were relatively minor movements in all three categories of debt instrument liabilities in the quarter: currency and deposits and loans rose by €213 million and €79 million respectively while debt securities fell by €605 million. The main movements of note occurred within the debt securities sub categories with the issuance of €2.8 billion long term securities offset by a redemption of €3.4 billion in short term debt securities. The debt to GDP ratio stood at 56.0% at the end of the fourth quarter.
EDP debt instrument assets increased by just shy of €1 billion in the quarter and this, combined with the €0.3 billion drop in liabilities resulted in net general government debt decreasing by €1.2 billion. The increase in assets is due almost entirely to a rise in currency and deposits - the proceeds of the issuance of debt securities.
Currency & Deposits | Long term loans | Short term loans | Long term debt securities | Short term debt securities | |
2020 Q1 | 22.5 | 47.4 | 0.6 | 134.6 | 8.6 |
2020 Q2 | 22.9 | 47.4 | 0.5 | 137.7 | 17.4 |
2020 Q3 | 23.3 | 46.8 | 0.4 | 141.1 | 15.7 |
2020 Q4 | 23.7 | 46.2 | 0.5 | 138.1 | 9.3 |
2021 Q1 | 24.3 | 48.3 | 0.8 | 144.9 | 12.1 |
2021 Q2 | 24.7 | 48.1 | 0.7 | 151.2 | 9.7 |
2021 Q3 | 24.9 | 48.1 | 0.5 | 153.6 | 9.1 |
2021 Q4 | 25.1 | 48.3 | 0.4 | 156.4 | 5.7 |
Figure 3.1 above shows that the composition of general government debt remains relatively stable over time. In Q4 2021 long term debt securities accounted for over 66% of the total. The proportion accounted for by short term debt securities has continued to decline as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic and now stands at 2.4%.
Movements of note in the balance sheet, Q4 2021
The market value of the State's assets in Equity and Investment Fund Shares (AF.5, Table 3.3) fell by €0.8 billion in the quarter to stand at €34.2 billion at the end of Q4 2021. Over this period the fall in value was composed of a reduction in holdings of these assets of €350 million (Table 3.2), combined with holding losses of €420 million (tables 3.2 and 3.3). The loss in the value of its portfolio was almost entirely due to market movements in the value of the State’s investments in Irish banks, while the reduction in holdings is partly explained by the sale of Bank of Ireland shares (€249 million) Investment into small savings schemes, largely by households, continued in the last quarter of 2021 as the State’s liability from these schemes grew by a further €213 million. The total investment into these savings products over the two-year period covering 2020-2021 amounted to €2.9 billion (F.2 liabilities, Table 3.2).
26 April 2022 11:00am - A correction has been made to the 2021 Q4 figures in Table 3.3 for 'Guarantees', 'Contingent liabilities' and 'Memo: Net worth, including pension liabilities and contingent liabilities ' since the initial release of 21 April 2022. |
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