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.

Irish banks will be pressed to take stakes in family homes next year in swaps for mortgage debt as part of a push to resolve some of the most distressed personal insolvency cases, the Irish Times reported. The first cases involving the use of so-called debt-for-equity swaps are expected to be decided by the courts in 2018 as the little-known measure within existing personal insolvency legislation is used to solve some of the worst mortgage arrears cases where loans have not been paid for years.

Ryanair may bid for assets of Niki, Europe’s biggest budget carrier said on Friday, as administrators scramble to find a buyer for the insolvent Austrian airline before it loses its valuable runway slots, Reuters reported. Niki, a unit of Air Berlin, filed for insolvency on Wednesday after Germany’s Lufthansa scrapped plans to buy its business, grounding the airline’s fleet and stranding thousands of passengers. “Ryanair confirmed today ...

Shareholders in AIB have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a restructuring of the bank aimed at meeting new European rules on minimising future taxpayer bailouts, the Irish Times reported. The bank, which cost €20.8 billion to rescue during the financial crisis, sought shareholder approval for the scheme at an extraordinary general meeting in Ballsbridge, Dublin, on Friday. The AIB board had unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the resolutions.