The outstanding amount of debt securities issued by Irish firms and by the Government sector totalled €855.9 billion at the end of April, according to new figures released by the Central Bank.

This marks a decline of 7 per cent year-on-year.

The figures also show that the outstanding amount of debt securities issued by euro area residents fell by 1 per cent over the same period.

Market-based debt financing for the banking sector decreased by 11 per cent year-on-year to €70.8 billion but was up by almost €400 million in April compared to a drop of €1.6 billion in March. The Central Bank said the rise reflected net issuance of short-term debt securities. It said that about 39 per cent of the total debt securities issued by the banking sector will fall due within the next 12 months.

The market value of equity securities in the banking sector saw a year-on year increase of 24 per cent1 to €21.4 billion, according to the ltaest figures.

The outstanding amount of debt securities issued by non-financial corporations increased to almost €7.9 billion in April. Approximately 16 per cent of the total debt securities issued will fall due within ht next year.

The value of the quoted shares issued by the sector declined from €251 billion to €240 billion but this still represented a year-on-year increase of 28 per cent.