This chapter contains information on Ireland's transactions and positions with the rest of the world. The results shown are consistent with the new methodological standards implemented in June 2014, namely the IMF's Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, sixth edition (BPM6). The Balance of Payments data (14.1, 14.2 and 14.3) show transactions between residents of Ireland and non-residents. 14.4 shows the end of year stocks (or levels) of Ireland's financial assets and liabilities, the International Investment Position. The data in 14.5 shows the outstanding amount of credit granted by credit institutions resident in Ireland to Irish private sector residents, although loans granted by non-resident credit institutions to Irish residents are not included. 14.6 combines data from the financial and non-financial sector accounts and shows the trend in saving and investment for households.
| 14.1 Balance of International Payments – current and capital accounts | |||||
| €million | |||||
| Item | 2014 | 2015 | |||
| Exports | Imports | Exports | Imports | ||
| Current account | |||||
| Merchandise | 114,461 | 73,730 | 195,592 | 85,024 | |
| of which: Merchanting (net export) | 3,506 | - | 7,727 | - | |
| Services | 105,327 | 111,453 | 121,605 | 150,963 | |
| Repairs and processing | 1,223 | 1,255 | 1,110 | 1,400 | |
| Transport | 5,193 | 2,171 | 5,936 | 2,489 | |
| Tourism and travel | 3,656 | 4,826 | 4,320 | 5,121 | |
| Insurance | 8,723 | 5,703 | 10,300 | 7,090 | |
| Financial services | 8,970 | 6,892 | 11,042 | 6,991 | |
| Royalties/licences | 5,242 | 48,288 | 6,723 | 67,765 | |
| Communications | 569 | 984 | 668 | 1,021 | |
| Computer services | 49,166 | 639 | 57,409 | 916 | |
| Business services | 20,705 | 40,428 | 21,958 | 57,902 | |
| Research and development | 2,277 | 8,704 | 1,758 | 19,701 | |
| Operational leasing | 9,442 | 934 | 11,751 | 770 | |
| Misc. business services | 8,987 | 30,791 | 8,447 | 37,432 | |
| Other services n.e.s. | 1,882 | 266 | 2,139 | 266 | |
| Primary income | 62,705 | 91,353 | 61,665 | 113,581 | |
| Compensation of employees | 546 | 703 | 542 | 633 | |
| Investment income | 60,840 | 90,398 | 59,553 | 112,635 | |
| Direct investment income | 19,849 | 43,566 | 15,771 | 59,705 | |
| Income on equity | 16,647 | 38,399 | 12,140 | 53,947 | |
| Dividends & distributed branch profits | 2,447 | 13,949 | 1,277 | 15,166 | |
| Reinvested earnings | 14,199 | 24,449 | 10,863 | 38,781 | |
| Income on debt | 3,203 | 5,167 | 3,631 | 5,758 | |
| Portfolio investment income | 32,912 | 37,482 | 36,157 | 44,430 | |
| Income on equity | 8,998 | 28,802 | 10,324 | 35,740 | |
| Income on debt | 23,914 | 8,679 | 25,833 | 8,690 | |
| Other investment income | 8,080 | 9,352 | 7,624 | 8,499 | |
| Other primary income | 1,318 | 253 | 1,571 | 312 | |
| Secondary income | 2,923 | 5,674 | 4,010 | 7,149 | |
| Current account - total | 285,414 | 282,212 | 382,873 | 356,716 | |
| Current account balance | 3,203 | 26,157 | |||
| Capital account balance | -6,769 | -1,255 | |||
| Memorandum item: Government income | 128 | 4,692 | 129 | 4,397 | |
| Source: CSO | |||||
Interactive table: StatBank link
Table 14.1 shows the Current and Capital accounts from the Balance of Payments release. The current account is subdivided into three main sections; Merchandise, Services and Income.
In 2015, the current account was €26.2bn in surplus. This was mainly due to a net Merchandise surplus of €110.6bn which was offset by profit and interest outflows of €51.9bn and a services deficit of €29.4bn.
The main categories of services exports were computer services (€57.4bn) and business services (€22bn), while the largest categories of service imports were royalties (€67.8bn) and business services (€57.9bn).
Interactive table: StatBank link
The map 14.2 shows the exports of merchandise and services by partner country in 2015. Negative values are due to Merchanting.
In 2015, total exports of merchandise and services amounted to €317.2bn. The top 5 countries accounted for 51% of exports. The largest trading partner for exports was United Kingdom (€51.3bn) followed by United States with exports of €48.7bn, Germany €25.7bn, Belgium €19.5bn and China €18bn.
Interactive table: StatBank link
The map 14.3 shows the imports of merchandise and services by trading partner country in 2015.
In 2015, total imports of merchandise and services amounted to €236bn. The top 3 countries accounted for 46% of imports. The largest trading partner for imports was United States (€43.8bn); imports from United Kingdom were €40bn and Netherlands €23.8bn.
| 14.4 International Investment Position - detailed data | ||||||
| €million | ||||||
| Item | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Foreign assets | ||||||
| Direct investment abroad | 254,538 | 255,670 | 312,304 | 387,987 | 510,178 | 815,202 |
| Equity capital and reinvested earnings | 218,098 | 213,766 | 269,818 | 340,246 | 437,273 | 729,484 |
| Other capital | 36,440 | 41,905 | 42,487 | 47,742 | 72,905 | 85,718 |
| Portfolio investment | 1,458,289 | 1,432,239 | 1,586,856 | 1,625,384 | 1,936,519 | 2,157,117 |
| Equity | 456,346 | 435,197 | 500,575 | 591,116 | 743,130 | 844,562 |
| Debt instruments | 1,001,943 | 997,042 | 1,086,281 | 1,034,269 | 1,193,389 | 1,312,555 |
| Bonds and notes | 721,791 | 721,059 | 786,409 | 746,714 | 794,565 | 879,740 |
| Money market instruments | 280,152 | 275,983 | 299,872 | 287,555 | 398,824 | 432,816 |
| Other investment | 941,452 | 1,010,251 | 915,612 | 792,270 | 1,188,524 | 1,298,805 |
| Loans, currency and deposits | 781,046 | 820,585 | 758,019 | 616,279 | 771,024 | 874,285 |
| Trade credits | 32,579 | 36,858 | 39,949 | 38,944 | 46,422 | 49,996 |
| Other assets | 127,827 | 152,806 | 117,643 | 137,047 | 371,078 | 374,524 |
| Reserve assets | 1,587 | 1,316 | 1,294 | 1,178 | 1,426 | 2,013 |
| Monetary gold | 204 | 235 | 244 | 159 | 180 | 178 |
| Special drawing rights | 830 | 754 | 748 | 727 | 776 | 829 |
| Reserve position in the IMF | 178 | 307 | 301 | 289 | 308 | 329 |
| Foreign exchange | 375 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 159 | 674 |
| TOTAL FOREIGN ASSETS | 2,655,866 | 2,699,476 | 2,816,066 | 2,806,819 | 3,636,647 | 4,273,137 |
| Foreign liabilities | ||||||
| Direct investment in Ireland | 213,722 | 224,511 | 290,466 | 296,412 | 342,700 | 795,644 |
| Equity capital and reinvested earnings | 233,252 | 228,993 | 293,142 | 307,938 | 372,257 | 546,067 |
| Other capital | -19,530 | -4,483 | -2,676 | -11,527 | -29,557 | 249,577 |
| Portfolio investment | 1,668,152 | 1,727,826 | 1,917,029 | 1,859,476 | 2,400,328 | 2,844,314 |
| Equity | 1,053,913 | 1,145,398 | 1,342,789 | 1,517,616 | 1,937,051 | 2,311,439 |
| Debt instruments | 614,239 | 582,428 | 574,240 | 341,860 | 463,277 | 532,875 |
| Bonds and notes | 589,365 | 567,807 | 552,343 | 330,985 | 449,388 | 514,048 |
| Money market instruments | 24,874 | 14,621 | 21,897 | 10,875 | 13,889 | 18,827 |
| Other investment | 913,052 | 929,525 | 849,096 | 887,479 | 1,206,049 | 1,164,438 |
| Loans, currency and deposits | 708,499 | 695,522 | 612,617 | 589,300 | 625,514 | 602,731 |
| Trade credits | 17,350 | 19,791 | 16,431 | 14,342 | 19,849 | 30,358 |
| Other liabilities | 187,203 | 214,213 | 220,048 | 283,837 | 560,684 | 531,349 |
| TOTAL FOREIGN LIABILITIES | 2,794,926 | 2,881,862 | 3,056,591 | 3,043,367 | 3,949,077 | 4,804,396 |
| Source: CSO | ||||||
Interactive table: StatBank link
At the end of 2015 Ireland’s stock of financial assets amounted to €4,273.1bn. The corresponding stock of financial liabilities was €4,804.4bn. This resulted in a net liability of €531.3bn.
| 14.5 Irish Private Sector Credit and Deposits, end of year | ||||||
| €million | ||||||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | |
| Credit advanced to Irish Private sector | 334,598 | 323,582 | 302,164 | 278,266 | 226,881 | 200,253 |
| 1. Households | 130,089 | 110,288 | 111,076 | 107,660 | 96,869 | 91,948 |
| 1.1 Loans for house purchase | 99,578 | 80,396 | 84,973 | 83,322 | 78,286 | 76,987 |
| 1.2 Consumer credit | 18,999 | 16,617 | 14,206 | 12,933 | 11,524 | 11,234 |
| 1.3 Other loans | 11,512 | 13,275 | 11,897 | 11,405 | 7,059 | 3,727 |
| 2. Non-financial corporations | 92,791 | 88,344 | 84,330 | 79,648 | 60,549 | 47,490 |
| 2.1 Loans | 92,660 | 88,185 | 84,204 | 79,526 | 60,292 | 47,210 |
| 2.2 Securities | 131 | 159 | 126 | 122 | 257 | 280 |
| 3. Insurance corporations and pension funds/ | ||||||
| other financial intermediaries | 111,718 | 124,950 | 106,758 | 90,958 | 69,463 | 60,815 |
| 3.1 Loans | 38,559 | 42,163 | 38,907 | 30,738 | 21,128 | 18,506 |
| 3.2 Securities | 73,159 | 82,787 | 67,851 | 60,220 | 48,335 | 42,309 |
| Deposits of Irish Private sector | 168,299 | 162,584 | 166,474 | 180,358 | 165,820 | 176,071 |
| 4. Households | 94,620 | 91,314 | 92,391 | 91,182 | 91,443 | 94,741 |
| 5. Non-financial corporations | 33,537 | 30,870 | 30,888 | 33,933 | 39,803 | 42,652 |
| 6. Insurance corporations and pension funds/ | ||||||
| other financial intermediaries | 40,142 | 40,400 | 43,195 | 55,243 | 34,574 | 38,678 |
| Credit Card statistics | ||||||
| Number of credit cards in issue (000) | 2,228 | 2,143 | 2,055 | 2,013 | 1,896 | 1,884 |
| Outstanding indebtedness on credit cards (€m) | 2,911 | 2,789 | 2,620 | 2,406 | 2,206 | 1,967 |
| Source: Central Bank of Ireland | ||||||
Table 14.5 shows the outstanding amount of credit extended by credit institutions resident in Ireland to Irish private sector residents. It is important to note that the loans granted by non-resident credit institutions to Irish residents are not included in these tables. Hence, if a bank changes its jurisdiction this will affect the amounts shown in this table.
The amount owed by households to Irish banks continued to decline in 2015 standing at €91.9bn at year end. This reflects the persisting trend in recent years where households’ credit liabilities have fallen in cumulative terms by €38.1bn since 2010. Deposits held by households in 2014 rose by 3.6% in 2015 whereas indebtedness on the 1.9 million credit cards in issue decreased to €2.0bn in the same period, representing a decline of 10.8% over the previous year.
| Gross Savings | GFCF | Net Capital Transfers | Deposits | Loans | Insurance, Pensions and Shares | |
| 2004 | 5.81738089710061 | 18.6882863776184 | 2.00759826030049 | 9.6578403772891 | -21.223465155549 | 3.94698283425908 |
| 2005 | 7.10132406514768 | 22.8551646641102 | 1.9358979356915 | 11.1080099746 | -31.0940846079252 | 5.73729727884255 |
| 2006 | 6.10904267594863 | 25.9125923098072 | 1.96528931311393 | 11.6135284757773 | -28.1948578314225 | 3.43678946271816 |
| 2007 | 5.57225990801885 | 23.1748916257377 | 1.80793276127698 | 6.59681464185655 | -24.8976754679995 | 2.01016650360892 |
| 2008 | 9.82857603231097 | 17.2408562962229 | 2.13631921336657 | 3.74163719423445 | -7.54304539460321 | 2.22000515039265 |
| 2009 | 13.204562856691 | 8.85566968758061 | 2.65681619221319 | 5.2614202250906 | 2.01366476523815 | 2.13782389659738 |
| 2010 | 9.82240008798067 | 6.12868565249108 | 2.740120938612 | 0.548180396929281 | 9.8183523861205 | -2.26719592004236 |
| 2011 | 7.29170679111102 | 5.57465402214785 | 2.471588993791 | -1.72683745760774 | 8.90224592294578 | 1.26623443756402 |
| 2012 | 7.15120189920695 | 5.35298876050291 | 2.51862715863 | 3.09517352561343 | 7.49624997982456 | -6.62066391962705 |
| 2013 | 5.2088722007098 | 5.47352311149575 | 2.53471799548535 | 0.203158550900019 | 4.781641329645 | -0.208163906347769 |
| 2014 | 4.40512479688996 | 6.30159992232246 | 2.458980909 | 0.957810824331748 | 4.62922499512948 | -0.691030329631389 |
Interactive table: StatBank link
Household saving peaked at €13.2bn in 2009 and has since fallen back to €4.4bn in 2014. How households have been using their savings is illustrated in Indicator 14.6. The line graph is the trend in actual gross household saving while the bar chart illustrates transactions in investment and borrowing by households.
During the entire period there is a clear link between transactions in loans liabilities and transactions in gross capital formation (GFCF) of households. The transactions in loans relate predominantly to borrowing to fund investment in property while the capital formation relates to the property investments themselves.
Since 2009 households have not been borrowing, in net terms. At the same time investment in property has fallen to levels that can be financed by the saving of the sector without having recourse to borrowing. In fact the gross capital formation of households fell from a high of €25.9bn in 2006 to €5.4bn in 2012 but rose to €6.3bn in 2014. Repayment of loans, or deleveraging, amounting to €4.6bn continued to be a major use of household saving in 2014. The use of household saving to fund transactions in investment assets such as deposits and insurance and pensions is also apparent in the graph.
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