The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) has warned that proposed changes to rent legislation would “significantly impact” on its ability to repay the debt it has issued, the Irish Times reported. The agency is “very concerned” about the impact any move to allow retrospective rent reviews could have on the value of its assets. Any such legislation would have a “dramatic reduction in the value of the income-producing assets transferred to Nama” because investment properties are valued on a multiple of their annual rent.

The Irish finance minister said on Friday the country’s debt burden was “sustainable” despite the government’s commitment to support the latest bank recapitalisation, the Financial Times reported. Michael Noonan said the €24bn ($34.1bn) the banks have been told to raise to provide an additional capital buffer “will not add very much to the imposition on the taxpayer”. Ireland’s bank bail out has already cost €46bn. If the state ends up funding this latest recapitalisation, it would lift the bill to €70bn or more than 40 per cent of 2009 Gross Domestic Product.

Anglo Irish Bank, the dying institution at the heart of Ireland's journey to near bankruptcy, confirmed Thursday an Irish-record 2010 net loss of euro17.7 billion ($25 billion) because of property development loans gone bad, the Associated Press reported. Anglo originally revealed its expected 2010 figures Feb. 8 and Thursday's audited figures contained only minor revisions. They eclipsed the previous record loss in Irish corporate history - the euro12.7 billion deficit that Anglo recorded in 2009.

Ireland is on track to nationalize its banking sector after its government uncovered a €24 billion ($33.9 billion) capital shortfall in the latest round of "stress tests" of top banks, The Wall Street Journal reported. That gap will be plugged largely by taxpayers. The likely result will be that the government takes majority ownership of the country's six largest lenders, said Patrick Honohan, the governor of Ireland's central bank. Four of the six banks are already fully, or mostly, nationalized.

Four times in the past two years, Irish authorities have tried to draw a line under their country's raging banking crisis. Now they are hoping the fifth time is the charm. Ireland's central bank on Thursday is expected to unveil the results of "stress tests" of four major lenders, The Wall Street Journal reported. Analysts expect the exams will show the banks need upward of €20 billion ($28 billion) in additional capital. That is likely to leave the Irish government as majority owner of virtually the entire banking sector.

David Drumm, the former chief executive of Anglo Irish Bank, faces two days of questioning Thursday and Friday in connection with debts claimed by Anglo Irish and his declaration of bankruptcy in Massachusetts, the Irish Times reported. Under a protective order that was demanded by Mr Drumm and his lawyers in exchange for their co-operation, the session will be closed to the press. The order compelling Mr Drumm to appear was filed by Anglo’s lawyers last month and subsequently approved by US bankruptcy judge Frank Bailey, who overruled objections by Mr Drumm’s lawyers.

Shares in Irish Life and Permanent plunged today amid speculation that the Government may be forced to take a large stake in the lender as a result of the severity of this week’s bank stress tests, the Irish Times reported. A banking source confirmed today that IL&P, until now the only domestic lender to avoid a state bailout, will be hit hard by the stress tests, which are homing in on potential losses in Ireland's residential mortgage market. The banking source declined to say how large a stake Dublin may take in the lender.

The Central Bank has resolved that Ireland’s banks will not be able to challenge the findings this week of crunch stress tests, an exercise which will clear the way for the fifth bank bailout since the 2008 guarantee, the Irish Times reported. The participating institutions – Bank of Ireland, Allied Irish Banks, Irish Life Permanent and the Educational Building Society – will not be able to seek any lower loan loss estimates in the tests or revised capital requirements. The tests are expected to show a further capital hole at the lenders of between €18 billion and €23 billion.

Irish first time home buyers are set to lose over €30k if they do not purchase a property before June when mortgage interest relief for people buying their first home is to be abolished, Finfacts reported. Currently mortgage interest relief is available to first time buyers (FTB) for up to 7 years after a property is bought. Over a 7 year period a qualifying first time buyer couple availing of the relief could save over €30k. The changes to mortgage interest relief, also known as Tax Relief at Source (TRS) are outlined in the Programme of Government.

The High Court issued a landmark judgment Friday in relation to the crystallisation of floating charges in the Belgard Motors liquidation, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. This is the first time that the Irish Courts have determined the issue of the validity of a crystallised floating charge by a Bank. In short, the Official Liquidator, Tom Kavanagh of kavanaghfennell, sought directions from the High Court in relation to whether crystallised floating charges had been converted to fixed charge over assets of circa €2M.