Ireland

The liquidators of the former Anglo Irish Bank are “flouting the duties imposed on them” and have “harmed and continue to harm” developer Paddy McKillen and his company Clarendon Properties, new US court documents allege.

The liquidators of the former Anglo Irish Bank are “flouting the duties imposed on them” and have “harmed and continue to harm” developer Paddy McKillen and his company Clarendon Properties, new US court documents allege.

Energy supplier Viridian has won an appeal against changes to the electricity generation licence for its Huntstown power plants, raising hopes that they can remain open and save 40 jobs, the Irish Times reported. Viridian warned earlier this year that it would have to close the Co Dublin plants after one facility failed to secure a contract for new payments from national grid operator EirGrid in an auction overseen by the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU).

The Central Bank has directed lenders in the Republic to hold additional capital from next year in order to protect them from a sudden downturn, the Irish Times reported. The regulator said that banks must hold the equivalent of 1 per cent of risk-weighted assets as a so-called countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) from July 2019, though it noted that the sector currently has enough surplus capital to absorb the increase. The buffer applies not only to domestic banks, but the Irish loan portfolios of European-regulated institutions.

The Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI) conducted more than 300 investigations last year into cases where it suspected people going through bankruptcy had not declared assets or had illegally transferred property to the detriment of creditors, according to its latest annual report, the Irish Times reported. The report, due to be presented imminently to the Cabinet, discloses that three of these investigations resulted in the recovery of about €6.5 million. Last year saw 521 people exit bankruptcy, while 118 family homes were transferred back into the ownership of former bankrupts.

Thousands of struggling buy-to-let investors are facing a dramatic increase in mortgage payments over the next four years, the Irish Times reported. A study by Central Bank staff says that many borrowers currently on interest-only payments are set to switch to a traditional amortising mortgage between now and 2022. That means they will have to start paying down the principal of the loan, a move that will significantly increase their monthly repayments. Close to half of buy-to-let mortgages examined in the study were interest-only.

Central Bank governor Philip Lane said on Tuesday that he expected property prices in Ireland to “cool off” over time as supply increased, although he pointed to the continuing “strong fundamentals” of the market here, the Irish Times reported. Irish house prices have risen by 76 per cent from the post-crash trough, with Dublin residential property prices up 90.1 per cent from their February 2012 lows, while a recent survey from Knight Frank placed Ireland as the fourth fastest growing property market in the world.

As minister for financial services and insurance, Michael D’Arcy has been responsible for leading Ireland’s fintech charge for the past twelve months and two weeks, the Financial Times reported. “Not once” has he been asked about the financial crisis that pushed the country’s biggest banks, and the country itself, into a bailout less than a decade ago.

Receivers appointed over two Co Wicklow properties have taken legal proceedings claiming the owners of the properties are advertising them for short term rental including on Airbnb and booking.com. Insolvency practitioner Tom Kavanagh was last year appointed receiver by Ennis Property Finance over a property at Waverley Terrace, Bray, the Irish Times reported. It was originally financed with a buy-to-let loan advanced by Bank of Scotland Ireland (BoSI) to Colm Henry, with an address at Rosslea Studio, Adelaide Road, Bray, and to Padraig Henry, with an address at Waverley Terrace.

At least 42 Irish construction companies have gone into liquidation or examinership since the start of this year, prompting a trade body to warn parliamentarians of an insolvency crisis that could hit public projects, Global Construction Review reported. The Construction Industry Federation, and other sources blamed the crisis on the price inflexibility of government contracts colliding with rising costs. Industry figures claim this collision has depressed profit margins to well below the European average.