Ireland

Former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm was released on bail this morning after issues around the sureties being provided by third parties was resolved to the satisfaction of judge Michael Walsh in the Dublin District Court, the Irish Times reported. Solicitor Aoife Corridon for the defence told Judge Michael Walsh that Mr Drumm’s mother and father-in-law Danny and Georgina O’Farrell had been approved to stand bail. They have lodged €50,000 while the remaining €50,000 has been frozen in their bank account by court order.

The former chief executive of the bank at the centre of Ireland’s financial collapse appeared in a Dublin court on Monday after being extradited from the US to face charges related to one of the world’s worst banking failures, the Financial Times reported. David Drumm faces 33 charges related to transactions carried out before Anglo Irish Bank collapsed in 2008. His extradition and court appearance are seen as a significant step by the Irish authorities to hold former executives of Anglo to account for its collapse in 2008.

Worldview Capital, the dissident shareholder in Petroceltic International that has battled its board for more than a year, has emerged in prime position to gain control of the troubled exploration company after doing a deal with its banks to buy a majority of its $232 million debts, the Irish Times reported. The Cayman Islands-registered fund, run by former investment banker Angelo Moskov, has told the stock market it bought has 69.44 per cent of the senior debt at at “a significant discount to face value”.

The Central Bank has sold another €500 million of the legacy debts of Anglo Irish Bank, bringing total disposals so far to €3 billion, the Irish Times reported. Some €22 billion in government bonds remain outstanding from the 2013 deal to scrap the Anglo promissory note scheme. The 2041 floating rate government bonds were acquired yesterday from the Central Bank and cancelled by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA). Following this cancellation the total nominal outstanding for the 2041 bond reduces to €1 billion.

Troubled oil and gas explorer Petroceltic on Monday applied for its shares to be temporarily suspended from trading in Dublin and London until the wrangling over its future is resolved, the Irish Times reported. The move follows a petition to appoint an examiner to Petroceltic by dissident shareholder Worldview, which has a 29 per cent stake in the explorer. Worldview on Friday brought the High Court petition aimed at securing court protection for Petroceltic, which owes about $230 million to its banks and is currently unable to make its repayments.

Banks’ demands that small business owners personally guarantee their companies’ loans are hindering the supply of credit, a survey published today says, the Irish Times reported. The Irish Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (Isme) association’s quarterly Bank Watch Survey shows that 43 per cent of businesses that sought credit during the first three months of the year were refused. The number is lower than in the previous quarter, when the banks refused close to half the small businesses that applied to them for loans.

Petroceltic International says it is taking legal advice in relation to a surprise attempt by Worldview Capital, a dissident shareholder with a 29 per cent stake, to appoint an examiner to the exploration company, the Irish Times reported. Worldview on Friday brought a High Court petition aimed at securing court protection for Petroceltic, which owes about $230 million to its banks and is currently unable to make its repayments. Worldview is seeking the appointment of of high-profile Grant Thornton accountant Michael McAteer as an examiner to the exploration company.

Ulster Bank is embarking on a fresh clampdown on businesses seriously behind on loan repayments in a bid to clean up its balance sheet, the Irish Times reported. The Irish lender sold thousands of property bubble-era loans to investors such as US company Cerberus Capital Management in a programme that started in 2013 and ended late last year. Ulster has begun contacting businesses with long-term loan arrears, telling them they should either repay or refinance their debts, or risk having them sold to a third party.

Irish motorists are likely to face higher insurance premiums following a court ruling which forces the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) to assume €90 million in liabilities from the collapse of Setanta Insurance, the Irish Times reported. The Court of Appeal unanimously rejected an appeal by the MIBI against an earlier High Court decision that it must pay out on the 1,750 outstanding claims left in the wake of Setanta’s liquidation in 2014.

Examination by AIB as to how William and Sheila Moran, the former owners of Morans on the Weir, in Kilcolgan, Co Galway, spent €24,000 a month on living expenses over 38 months to the end of 2014, is continuing, the Irish Times reported. Mr Justice Brian McGovern was yesterday told the bank is reviewing some new information it has received over the past two weeks, and is waiting for more that is pending. The case was adjourned to April 4th.