External Debt Hits 1.61 Trillion In June

At the end of June, the gross external debt of all resident sectors (i.e. general government, the monetary authority, financial and non-financial corporations and households) amounted to €1,611bn.

This represents an increase of €51bn on the level shown at the end of the previous quarter and reflects a continuing upward trend in the level of external debt liabilities over last two years.

It should be noted, however, that much of this external debt is offset by holdings of foreign financial assets by Irish residents.

The liabilities - mostly loans - of monetary financial institutions (i.e. credit institutions and moneymarket funds) amounted to €818bn.

This was €5bn up on the end-March stock level and represents 51% of the total debt, a smaller share than at end-March.

The liabilities of other sectors increased by €27bn from the end-March position and at €562bn represented 35% of the overall debt for the end-June quarter, a larger share than in the previous quarter. The bulk of the increase was accounted for by issues of long-term debt securities.

Direct investment debt liabilities of €183bn showed an increase of €5bn from the level shown for end March.