More than half of the 882 smaller companies that responded to an ISME survey on access to credit from banks said they had been turned down, RTÉ News reported. The quarterly Bank Watch Survey reveals that 54% of small and medium sized businesses were turned down in the last three months. That compares to 48% refused credit in the prior three months. ISME said that 72% of its members feel banks are once again making it more difficult to access finance despite pronouncements to the contrary.

A comprehensive source of information on new lending and demand for credit was called for yesterday to ensure businesses were not dissuaded from applying for bank credit, the Irish Times reported. John Moran, head of bank restructuring with the Department of Finance, said such a source would be “key to showing the reality” of both the demand for and supply of credit. At the annual Experian business lunch Mr Moran said the Government needed to “push ahead” with developing a strategy to put in place a more effective credit information system in Ireland.

The French government has opened the door to a compromise in the stand-off over Ireland’s corporate tax rate, saying it will take into account Ireland’s “singular situation” in deciding its stance, the Irish Times reported. Amid signs that Paris and Berlin are waiting for a gesture from Ireland, government spokesman François Baroin said no decision had been taken on whether to maintain French opposition to Ireland’s request for a reduction in the interest rate on its bailout loans. “The discussions are continuing.

Bank of Ireland has painted a worst-case scenario where the State’s stake would rise to 87 per cent if no bondholders accept its debt for cash or shares proposals and investors shun a subsequent rights issue, the Irish Times reported. The bank said it planned to issue shares at between 11.3 cent and 11.8 cent a share to subordinated bondholders taking up a debt-for-equity swap before July 7th. This compares with yesterday’s closing price of 14 cent.

House prices in Dublin have fallen nearly 50 per cent since their peak in 2007, the Central Statistics Office has said. According to the CSO’s Residential Property Price Index, house prices in the capital are 46 per cent lower than 2007, while apartment prices have fallen 53 per cent since their high in February 2007, the Irish Times reported. Nationally, residential property prices fell by 1 per cent in the month of April. This compares with a decline of 1.7 per cent recorded in March.

Bank of Ireland has offered to buy back debt from subordinated bondholders for 10 per cent or 20 per cent of its original value in return for cash, or double this level if they accept shares instead, the Irish Times reported. The offer is part of the bank’s efforts to raise €5.2 billion to meet the Central Bank’s capital target. The bank announced plans to impose losses on the bondholders on Tuesday and released more details yesterday on the offer relating to €2.6 billion of debt. Analysts estimate that the bank will raise about €2 billion from the liability management exercise.

The new board and management at the international property company formerly owned by businessman Seán Quinn will seek to appoint a bankruptcy receiver to the family’s company in Sweden, the Irish Times reported. Mr Quinn and his family won a court ruling in Sweden last month over-ruling the dismissal of Quinn Investments Sweden by the receiver that was appointed by Anglo Irish Bank to its parent Irish company.

The seasonally adjusted Live Register rose by 2,600 in May, bringing the total number of people signing on to more than 443,000, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO)have shown, the Irish Times reported. The increase pushed the standardised unemployment rate slightly higher in May, to 14.8 per cent compared with 14.7 per cent a month earlier. The Live Register also includes casual and part-time workers. The official unemployment rate is measured by the CSO’s Quarterly National Household Survey, which showed the rate was 14.7 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.

The family of businessman Seán Quinn have brought Commercial Court proceedings claiming that loans of about €2.34 billion made by Anglo Irish Bank to various Quinn companies and Cypriot-registered companies are unenforceable because they were issued for “an illegal objective of market manipulation” — support of the Anglo share price, the Irish Times reported. The action by Mrs Patricia Quinn and her five children — Aoife, Colette, Brenda, Ciara and Seán Quinn Jnr — arises from events of the past two years that led to the family losing control of companies in the Quinn group.

A jewellery wholesaler that numbers Dragons’ Den star Bobby Kerr among its directors has been put into receivership by Bank of Scotland (Ireland) over multimillion euro debts. Emarno was formed in 2007 by Tony Moroney and Pearse Curran, The Sunday Business Post reported. They bought the business from the Anthony Nicholas group, which also owns the Fields jewellery chain. Emarno wholesales jewellery in Ireland and Britain, including the sale and distribution of jewellery by designer Paul Costelloe.