Ireland

The Belfast Clinic, an upmarket private medical clinic in south Belfast, has been placed into administration, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. The clinic, which opened just two years ago and was the newest independent private hospital in the North, offers a range of services, including cosmetic surgery, gynaecology and urology. It also boasts state-of-the-art facilities and has 15 private rooms in its premises on the fashionable Lisburn Road in Belfast. The firm experienced financial difficulties, however, following the suspension of the NHS waiting list initiative.

The High Court yesterday gave troubled builder McInerney Homes protection from its creditors in the first case of its kind to involve a business with debts destined for State bad bank, Nama, The Irish Times reported. McInerney has been wrestling with €236 million in debt owed to Irish and British banks since last year, but was close to selling a stake to US-based private equity house, Oaktree Capital, for €40 million, a deal that would have recapitalised the business.

Ireland’s long-term sovereign credit rating was cut one step to AA- from AA by Standard & Poor’s, which cited the projected cost of supporting the nation’s financial sector, Bloomberg reported. “The negative outlook reflects our view that a further downgrade is possible if the fiscal cost of supporting the banking sector rises further, or if other adverse economic developments weaken the government’s ability to meet its medium- term fiscal objectives,” S&P said today in a statement.

Reports have emerged that troubled house builder McInerney Holdings is preparing an application for court protection which would force its lenders to write down its debts. If the petition goes ahead, it could represent a challenge to Nama legislation, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Laden down with borrowings of €236 million, McInerney Holdings, one of the country's oldest house builders, is one of the many Irish firms attempting to restructure its debts in a last-gasp effort for survival.

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is to cease operating as a licensed bank in Ireland following a strategic review of its business here, The Irish Times reported. The company, which is owned by Lloyds Banking Group, will wind down its operations, ceasing to provide working capital and wealth management services by the end of the year, and transferring its existing Irish business to Bank of Scotland in the UK.

New proposals published by the Financial Regulator last week will make it tougher for lenders to seek repossessions and will strengthen the rights of mortgage holders in arrears, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. The planned changes are part of a proposed reform of the existing code of conduct for lenders and are aimed at easing the situation for more than 32,000 homeowners in arrears. Under the new rules, which are due to be finalised in November, lenders will have to explore all viable options with borrowers in arrears and examine alternative repayment measures.

The bailout of beleaguered building society Irish Nationwide is likely to exceed the original estimated cost of €2.7 billion by up to one-fifth, said Patrick Honohan, governor of the Central Bank, The Irish Times reported. Speaking in Beijing, China, Mr Honohan put the net cost to the Government of recapitalising Anglo Irish Bank at “about €22-€25 billion”, and on top of this, he said, would be added about €4 billion “mainly to cover one small building society”.

Ireland’s bailout of Anglo Irish Bank, a key factor behind the country’s soaring budget deficit, is “costly but manageable”, the head of th Central Bank said yesterday, The Irish Times reported. Prof Patrick Honohan, who is also part of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) governing council, said the total cost of bailouts of all Ireland’s banks and financial institutions would be around 20 per cent of GDP.

When retail giants Brown Thomas, Clerys and Arnotts flung their doors open on St Stephen's Day last year – traditionally a shop holiday – it was an appropriate end to a terrible year for the retail industry. Sales had hit a 25-year low and an estimated 30,000 jobs were lost. 2010 hasn't been much better for Ireland’s retail sector, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Newly constructed shopping centres still stand partially, or even wholly empty, while 'to let' signs litter high streets up and down the country.

Less than a month after stress tests calmed concerns about the health of European banks, new problems in the Irish banking sector are making investors nervous once again, The Wall Street Journal reported. Earlier this week, Ireland received European Commission approval for an additional €10 billion ($13 billion) in capital for state-owned Anglo Irish Bank, on top of the €14.3 billion the government has already injected into the bank. On Wednesday, Bank of Ireland, 36%-owned by the government, reported a pretax first-half loss nearly twice as big as its loss a year earlier.