Close economic partners of the U.K. have braced for a wave of possible fallouts after British voters sided with leaving the European Union: fewer of their workers in the U.K. and lower exports of machines and luxury cars, among other threats. But no country has more at stake than Ireland, whose economy is connected to the U.K. in unusually intimate ways. So in the wake of Brexit, Ireland is eyeing similarly close relations across the Atlantic — with corporate America, the Wall Street Journal reported today.

Just under €180 million was spent in costs on the liquidation of Irish Bank Resolution Corporation from February 2013 up to the end of last year, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has confirmed, the Irish Times reported. The Minister told Mr Doherty it was not possible to quantify the final costs of the liquidation at this time due to the amount of work that remains outstanding.

As Irish shares threaten to enter a bear market for the first time since 2011, the outlook may depend on two events: how the UK “bails out” of the EU and whether Italy is forced to “bail in” bondholders in its ailing banks. While the Iseq index rallied almost 3 per cent in the last two days to 5,580 points, it remains 14 per cent below its May highs, driven by a sharp slump following the Brexit referendum.

Irish credit unions have seen their loan book shrink by 45 per cent in the past eight years, leaving their loans-to-assets ratio at a “dismal” level that raises serious questions about the movement’s future, according to a Government-commissioned report. The report by the Credit Union Advisory Committee, chaired by Donal McKillop, a financial services professor at Queen’s University Belfast, recommended a full review of Central Bank lending limits.

The National Asset Management Agency said it has now repaid 85 per cent of the €30.2 billion of senior bonds it issued to banks during the financial crisis to pay for their risky commercial property loans, the Irish Times reported. This comes after Nama redeemed a further €1 billion of such notes earlier today, marking its second such bond buyback so far this year. Senior bonds comprised 95 per cent of the deeply discounted payment it made to banks between 2010 and 2010 for their loans. The remaining 5 per cent is made up of subordinated bonds.

Living expenses for members of businessman Sean Quinn’s family must continue to be paid from accounts frozen four years ago rather than from their personal accounts, the High Court has ruled. Mr Justice Brian McGovern refused an application from a receiver appointed over their assets aimed at having the money come from their personal accounts first before any call is made on the frozen accounts, the Irish Times reported.

Lenders to Irish mining group Kenmare Resources have approved the company’s restructuring plan, which will see the group cut its debt by $269 million (€238m) through a share sale, the Irish Times reported. In a statement on Monday, Kenmare said that “significant progress” had been made ahead of the proposed capital raise and it is “confident” that it will be able to deliver the agreed debt restructuring and working capital requirements of the group. The company defaulted on its debts earlier this year after failing to reach agreement with lenders on a deleveraging plan.

Petroceltic chief executive Brian O’Cathain and chief financial officer Tom Hickey have resigned from the company after the High Court today approved an amended survival scheme for the exploration firm and two related companies, the Irish Times reported. A statement from the troubled explorer said Petroceltic’s board has stepped down and the company’s existing share capital been cancelled following conclusion of the examinership process.

Loan approval rates for small and medium sized firms are continuing to improve although access to credit remains a big issue for SMEs, a new survey reveals. The quarterly bank watch study compiled by Isme shows 35 per cent of small businesses who applied for funding were refused credit, down from 43 per cent at the end of February. Overall 41 per cent of fims surveyed said they required additional or new bank facilities in the last three months, as against 42 per cent in the preceding quarter.

The Central Bank’s new head of credit institutions supervision Ed Sibley said banks face “high levels of scrutiny and challenge” as they seek to free up money previously set aside for bad loans, the Irish Times reported. In his first speech his appointment to the role in April, Mr Sibley said that following the crisis “the patient is still weak and vulnerable” and banks still have much to do to address soured loans and risks posed by the “astonishing pace” of technological change.