ANGLO IRISH BANK
Anglo Irish Bank lent Sean Fitzpatrick’s son David $50,000 against his New York apartment after the bank had been bailed out by the State, reported The Sunday Independent.
Tag: banks
BANKING
AIB is facing virtual nationalisation because of new rules on bank reserves proposed by The Financial Regulator, The Sunday Times reports. Such an action would mean taxpayers would be forced to invest billions more than they have already to keep the bank afloat.
Meanwhile, Nama officially becomes a reality today when the first tranche of loans are transferred from Irish Nationwide. All of the Sunday’s speculate the original haircut of 35% will now look more like a skinhead, with discounts of up to 60% being paid by the state on these loans.
The rest of the week will likely be filled with banking news as the full extent of the Nama bailout strategy becomes fully apparent. Guestimates range anywhere between €25 billion and €40 billion depending which commentator you choose to believe – whatever the final bill, taxpayers can expect to be footing it for generations to come.
MINISTER TO MAKE A BANG
The “big bang” is the theory that astronomers and physicists use to explain the formation of the universe. It is not a phrase you would ordinarily expect to find on the finance pages of the national newspapers but it has taken up residence there over the past few weeks as we await a series of announcements that will shape the banking sector, and thus the economy, of this country for the foreseeable future. There will be a statement from Nama (National Asset Management Agency) on the amount it plans to pay for the first €17 billion of bad debts it will accept from the banks.
ANGLO IRISH BANK
The headlines just seem to get worse and worse for the taxpayer-owned bank. The latest lurid story involves an alleged €2bn, Mafia money-laundering scheme.
AIB
The state’s biggest retail bank, AIB, operated special units to advance huge loans to property developers independently of its branch network, The Sunday Tribune reports.
AIB
Pressure is mounting on AIB boss Colm Doherty in the wake of last year’s €2.65bn pre-tax loss, with most of the Sunday newspapers taking a cut at the performance of the bank and its dismal prospects.
The Sunday Independent’s business section quotes the findings of an international research firm, Credit Sights, who believe next year’s losses could top €3bn and senior analyst Simon Adamson’s view that AIB’s loan book is “the worst in Europe”.
“From my experience, you have to go back to the Nordic banking crisis of the 1990s to see comparable levels of impaired loans in a big bank as you see in AIB today,” he says.
ANGLO IRISH BANK
Finance minister Brian Lenihan believes there will be prosecutions over the events at Anglo Irish Bank and the bank was “too big to fail”, The Sunday Independent reports.
“I believe there will be prosecutions in relation to what happened in Anglo Irish Bank but it is not a matter for me, it is a belief of mine,” he said.
IL&P
Irish Life & Permanent paid more than €4m to former chief executive Denis Casey and two other senior executives who resigned last year after details emerged about the controversial banking arrangements with Anglo Irish Bank.
Casey, finance director Peter Fitzpatrick and head of treasury David Gantly pocketed €1.8m “in lieu of notice” and a further €2.9m towards their pension plans, The Sunday Business Post reports.
LARGEST LOSS IN CORPORATE HISTORY
Anglo Irish Bank wants to draw a line under its past when its annual results are published next month, according to a front page article in The Sunday Times. You can readily see why. The nationalised bank is the functioning definition of a basket case. Anglo is about to announce the largest loss in Irish corporate history when it writes off €11.2 billion on loans that it will transfer to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama).
State to Become Bank’s Biggest Shareholder
During the debate over the banking crisis, the Government resolutely refused to go down the road of nationalising any of the major financial institutions but when the financial markets open tomorrow (Monday), the State will be the biggest shareholder in the Bank of Ireland.
My Nama Gets the Green Light
In order to sell Nama to its membership last year, the Green Party came up with a plan to establish an expert group that would help people struggling with personal or mortgage debt. The intention was that the group would issue recommendations on measures to assist people in debt arrears within a matter of months. The plan, which the Green leadership dubbed “My Nama”, was included in the revised Programme for Government and it looks as if it is now about to get the green light.
New Rules for Direct Debit Customers
The European Payment Services Directive took effect on 1 November 2009. It removes many of the risks associated with paying by direct debit.
Bank of Scotland (Ireland)
It says much for the news values of the Irish media that a retail bank closure entailing 750 job losses and affecting tens of thousands of people across the country gains less exposure than the resignation of a backbench TD.
Still, there is a lot of coverage of the dramatic exit of Bank of Scotland (Ireland) in the business pages, where most commentators are happy to dance on the grave of their one-time hero.