Ireland

A Co Galway couple were overcharged €1.23 million by KBC Bank Ireland after they were incorrectly moved to higher interest-rate mortgages on their properties instead of a tracker rate. It is the biggest single case of overcharging by a bank to emerge in the tracker mortgage scandal, which has cost almost €1 billion and so far affected at least 33,700 customers, the Irish Times reported. John and Christine Foye of Milltown, Co Galway, were overcharged by the Belgian-owned bank on loans across a portfolio of investment properties.

The costs of the receivership for Treasury Holdings' main Spencer Dock firm now total over €15.5m, Independent.ie reported. That is according to the latest receivers' extract lodged with the Companies Office for the former Johnny Ronan company. The figures show that the costs of the receivership, made up of professional, management and receiver fees concerning the six year long receivership of the Treasury Holdings's firm, now total €15.5m.

Permanent TSB has put as much as €4 billion of non-performing mortgages up for sale under its so-called Project Glas portfolio, triple the amount previously envisaged by management at one time, it has emerged, the Irish Times reported. The size of the planned transaction is equivalent to almost a fifth of its current total loan book.

Overseas private-equity and hedge funds are currently circling as much as €11 billion of Irish loans, mainly mortgages, that have been put in the market by three of the most active lenders during the property bubble. Permanent TSB said on Tuesday that it had pressed the start button on the sale of a portfolio of loans known as Project Glas as it seeks to lower its level of non-performing loans (NPLs), the Irish Times reported. It is understood that the portfolio, being marketed by EY, contains up to €2 billion of private and buy-to-let mortgages, based on their original value.

Businessman Sean Dunne has asked the High Court for orders giving him access to documents which he says are necessary for the forthcoming hearing of a bid to extend his Irish bankruptcy, the Irish Times reported. Official assignee Chris Lehane, who is administering Mr Dunne’s Irish bankruptcy, is seeking to have the bankruptcy extended for the maximum term of eight years over alleged non co-operation by Mr Dunne, which he denies. Ms Justice Caroline Costello began hearing the discovery application on Monday and will resume the hearing on Wednesday.

A company connected to an advisory firm to the family of businessman Sean Quinn is allegedly behind the “cash extraction” of some $15 million (€12.26 million) from an Indian company in a number of bogus transactions, it has been claimed at the Commercial Court, the Irish Times reported. The alleged extraction is part of a scheme designed to put $455 million in Quinn group assets beyond the reach of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), it is claimed.

The level of “non-performing loans” in Ireland continues to decline significantly, falling by close to 20 per cent in the year to June 2017, the Irish Times reported. The decline is due largely to the widespread use of loan restructuring solutions, the European Commission reports. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio – the percentage of total gross loans and advances – came down from 14.6 per cent in June 2016 to 11.6 per cent in June 2017. The figures are part of a Europe-wide study of NPLs which finds that the legacy of the financial crisis is still not behind us.

In a related story, Reuters reported that Irish airline Ryanair said on Monday it had contacted the Austrian administrator of insolvent holiday airline Niki to express its interest in buying some of its assets. Former Formula 1 world champion Niki Lauda has also re-emerged as a potential bidder for Niki ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline for fresh offers the Austrian court has set. Read more.

A firm holding the riskiest debt in Anglo Irish Bank has given up a long-fought battle to recover some of the £300 million (€337 million) owed by the defunct lender, the Irish Times reported. Lambay Capital Securities, a Dublin-based special purpose vehicle, was used in 2005 to raise money for Anglo Irish Bank from international investors by way of the sale of preference shares, a hybrid between debt and equity.

Ireland accounts for just 0.4 per cent of the global economy. But outside interest massively outweighs that tiny world GDP share – given the ubiquity of the Irish people and the country’s enormous cultural reach, the Irish Times reported. Ask most Brits or Americans how the Irish economy is faring and, while they may not know specifics, they’ll have a general sense. The roar of the Celtic Tiger was heard around the world, as was the sound of Ireland’s 2008 crash – being more severe than in any other English-speaking country.