The revelation that five years into the downturn three-quarters of the people behind on their mortgage payments actually have jobs comes as a surprise. It shouldn’t, but it does, the Irish Times reported in a commentary. It is also quite scary as most of us soldier on under the assumption that if we can hang on to our jobs we will keep a roof over our heads. It is a further reminder of a fact we have perhaps lost sight of: the scale of the Irish mortgage default is unprecedented.

Insight issued regarding a ruling handed down on CGT liability for receivers and liquidators.

Marie-Christine Vabre opened the Paris 2013 Congress with an interesting story of “How to be successful in a tricky field”, with advice that can be applied to all industries

Topics of discussion include: Recently announced consultation on regulation and fees. The Scottish Coal case. Discussion on the Chapter 15 database on the site, and it was noted that there had been no cases added since 2011.

The Financial Services (Banking Reform) Act 2013 (“Banking Reform Act”) received Royal Assent on December 18, 2013.

In this interview, Rosalind Wright discusses with David Ingram, Chair of INSOL Europe’s Anti-Fraud Forum, her experiences and opinions on current trends in fraud.

During the INSOL Europe Annual Congress in Paris, the main topic was ‘To restructure, or to liquidate?’. In my presentation I was able to point at the latest initiative of the European Commission in this field. On 5 July 2013, the European Commission launched a public consultation on what is called a European approach to business failure and insolvency.

In recent years, England and Wales has attracted a steady stream of nationals from other European Member States (first German, then Irish, now, apparently, Latvian) wishing to take advantage of the ‘debtor-friendly’ British personal insolvency regime. That is to say, discharge from bankruptcy after one year; all (well, almost all) debts erased, a chance to start again after 365 days. Times, however, are changing.

In the autumn of 2008 the Icelandic financial system faced severe difficulties. The failure of the country’s three largest banks, Kaupthing Bank (“Kaupthing”), Glitnir Bank (“Glitnir”) and Landsbanki (“LBI”), led to them being taken over by the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority under new powers granted by Act No 125/2008 on the Authority for Treasury Disbursements due to Unusual Financial Market Circumstances.

Many payday lenders could be breaking the law by charging excessive default fees to borrowers who miss repayments, according to Which? An investigation by the consumer group revealed that 10 of 17 leading payday lenders have default fees of £20 or more, and four charged £25 and above, with Wonga topping the table at £30, The Independent reported. The consumer group’s legal opinion is that excessive default fees are unlawful under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, which state it is unfair for lenders to charge a disproportionately high fee if borrowers default