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Private Sector (S.11 + S.14 + S.15)

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The total debt1 of the Private Sector2 decreased by 2.8% during 2018 to stand at €723.4bn by year-end. The threshold of 133% of GDP, set as part of the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure (MIP), was exceeded again in 2018. Figure 3.1 shows the development of Private Sector debt since 2008. The contribution from households to total private sector debt – composed mainly of mortgage-related debt – has maintained a steady decline from its peak in 2008 of €202.7bn, falling by €67.6bn in the intervening period.

The debt of non-financial corporations (NFCs) decreased in 2018 by €17.1bn, or 2.8%. In contrast, non-financial corporate debt grew by 70.0% in 2015 which drove the overall increase in Private Sector debt. This was driven by corporate restructuring both through imports of individual assets and also reclassifications of entire balance sheets in 2015 which meant that the level of capital assets in Ireland increased dramatically compared to 2014 (see National Balance Sheet for Ireland 2015 for further information).

S.11 Non-Financial CorporationsS.14 + S.15 Households and NPISHMIP Threshold
2008128.450501462291107.962029291715133
2009139.858255024412116.229959851811133
2010146.787812247503110.224364640642133
2011169.767950247853104.688782322174133
2012180.60783695230698.4972584096217133
2013174.26743974207193.2137786448679133
2014197.31234221805281.0452279465816133
2015248.57860018675656.507679439269133
2016232.37373601203752.0723479422069133
2017203.73337191569446.80197778424133
2018181.53068622139941.7068134199016133

The flow of private sector credit (defined as the sum of consolidated transactions in Table 2.6 - AF.3 Debt Securities and AF.4 Loans) was -7.8% of GDP during 2018. As shown in Figure 3.2, this was well within the threshold of +14% set under the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure. A positive credit flow equates to a net incurrence of debt during the year whereas a negative sign indicates a net running-down of debt during the same accounting period. The negative credit flows occurring in the Household sector since 2008, cumulatively amounting to €45.1bn, correspond to a net repayment, primarily, of mortgage related debt.

Total Credit FlowMIP Threshold
200821.976183902656414
2009-4.5461233936053614
20102.2232785122302214
201116.453796904069314
2012-0.50050492476755714
2013-1.3704692018012214
20142.5527583465473714
2015-2.3358468577100814
2016-15.716417820836514
20170.17061156117927414
2018-7.7587329184679414

A breakdown of the Non-Financial Corporations sector (S.11) financial balance sheet by ownership, along with corporate inversions/redomiciled PLCs, is presented in Table 2.9.

The total liabilities of foreign-owned NFCs, relative to the size of the sector, can be seen in Figure 3.3 (2012 – 2018). In 2018, foreign-owned NFCs make up 53.8% of the NFC sector. Note that the percentage of redomiciled PLCs is 16.1% in 2012 and increases to 28.4% by 2015, this is related to the increase of capital assets in Ireland in 2015, as discussed above.

Irish-owned NFCs (excluding redomiciled PLCs)Redomiciled PLCsForeign-owned NFCs
20120.2754301414822820.1411159544339190.462483172328799
20130.3277539369901830.1996786020066260.468839645202591
20140.3467325914732850.3268599350454250.55963039381531
20150.4689251047125620.5500565657696920.917379735209056
20160.524647429511620.5690407088263851.00327599722622
20170.5140907345554690.5202787006918971.19023985309166
20180.5322290071252980.5267003531394781.23148347965669

Figure 3.4 shows the Net Financial Worth (BF.90) for S.11 proportioned by ownership (2012 – 2018). The trend shows that before 2015 much of the Net Financial Worth can be attributed almost evenly between foreign and Irish-owned entities, while the substantial change that occurs during 2015 is largely attributed to the foreign-owned NFC group (increasing from 56.4% in 2014 to 70.5% in 2015 of the total Net Financial Worth). In 2018 this proportion stands at 81.0%.

Irish-owned NFCs (excl. redomiciled PLCs)Redomiciled PLCsForeign-owned NFCs
2012-108.083279563957-16.813566833548-137.123481200495
2013-119.917174323395-23.0365645358819-134.571343740873
2014-112.770224217207-16.5990391710369-167.351314882004
2015-131.545218682164-30.6036031903718-387.979926896659
2016-121.85139479509-6.91368503004464-436.729595597745
2017-101.790643764144-21.6179177164689-440.379953991508
2018-103.88041669303-6.35828960726992-468.597760680811

1Defined as the sum of consolidated stock positions of Table 2.8 - AF.3 Debt Securities and AF.4 Loans.

2Defined as the sum of the S.11 Non-Financial Corporations sector and the S.14 + S.15 Households and Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households sector.

Go to the next chapter: Financial Sector