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Roundup-Big IBRC loans for sale

Monday, February 11 08:16:31

Among the big borrowings expected to be bought out during the fire sale before entering NAMA are performing loans of hundreds of millions of euro owed by property investor Paddy McKillen, Davy Stockbrokers (the country's biggest brokerage) and billionaire Denis O'Brien and his companies.

Sizeable loans related to the Whitfield Hospital in Waterford, McCabe Pharmacies, Topaz and staff who own a chunk of Aer Lingus will also all be impacted.

The sell-off will also see high-profile smaller borrowers from Anglo or Irish Nationwide, including politicians Michael Lowry and Phil Hogan and broadcaster Gay Byrne, impacted as their property loans are either flogged off in the weeks after July or go into Nama. The Irish Independent

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AIB and Bank of Ireland reached the Government's target of E3.5 billion in lending to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and farms last year. But the two pillar banks should work to improve "the borrowing experience" of companies as the economy recovers, according to the Credit Review Office.

John Trethowan, who heads the office, said the successful appeal rate of 55 per cent of cases referred to him was evidence that "more can be achieved by banks".

The two banks reviewed by Mr Trethowan sanctioned E8 billion in lending to SMEs in 2012, of which E2.5 billion was new lending drawn down.

His latest report states that he "continues to have concerns on the banks' risk appetite for lending to more challenging but still viable businesses", in particular as economic prospects improve and the demand for credit increases.

"Lending to such challenged businesses will be essential to support the recovery in the domestic economy, and will require leadership, enterprise and banking skills." The Irish Times

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The Government's deal on promissory notes should boost consumer confidence, according to Ibec. Launching a new Irish Consumer Monitor report, the business group said it expected consumers' discretionary incomes to stabilise in 2013 and increase slightly in 2014.

Mortgaged working households will see the greatest gain in spending power as they benefit from low mortgages, unemployed households and retirees will not fare so well, partly due to rising healthcare costs.

"Spending power" is defined by Ibec as after-tax income less bills such as mortgages, energy and health. "In the absence of further bad news, consumer sentiment should recover during 2013. However, any unforeseen shocks pose a risk to the fragile recovery seen to date," said Ibec economist Reetta Suonpera. The Irish Times

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The Bank of Ireland is going after property valuers in an attempt to claw back money on loan bets it got horribly wrong in the boom. The focus has been mainly on Britain for now but is likely to make aggressive moves here soon - has been taking action worth millions against big property firm names including Colliers and DTZ.

A wave of valuer-negligence litigation is expected here as Irish banks move to act before the legal window to sue runs out. "We have seen an increasing trend of lender banks investigating claims against valuers as they seek recovery on borrowings," Eversheds litigation partner Norman Fitzgerald said.

"We have received quite a few inquiries and a few matters are pending. Given that the peak of property boom activity was in or around 2006/2007, banks are aware that there is a time urgency in beginning these claims." The Irish Independent

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China has leapfrogged the US to become the world's biggest trading nation, bringing an end to the US's post-war dominance of global commerce.

The total value of US exports and imports in 2012 was $3.82 trillion (£2.4 trillion), the US Commerce Department has revealed. China's customs administration has already announced that the country's total trade last year was worth $3.87 trillion.

"It is remarkable that an economy that is only a fraction of the size of the US economy has a larger trading volume," Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, told Bloomberg. "The surpassing of the US is not because of a substantially undervalued currency that has led to an export boom," Mr Lardy said, pointing out that that Chinese imports have grown at a faster rate than exports since 2007. The Irish Independent