A credit union has had to be given access to €4.3m from a bailout fund after a spike in bad debt provisions, it has been confirmed, The Irish Independent reported. Charleville Credit Union in Co Cork has been provided with the guarantee, with the money to be given to it if some of its loans are not recovered within two years. A deficit of €5.5m was recorded after the union was forced to put aside extra provisions for bad debts, due to the severe drop in the value of properties which loans were secured against.

Concerns over the financial stability of countries on the euro-zone's fringe mounted Monday as one of Ireland's largest banks had its credit rating cut and political tensions fueled doubts about Portugal's deficit-cutting plans, The Wall Street Journal reported. Moody's Investors Service downgraded the senior debt of Anglo Irish Bank Corp. by three notches to Baa3. Ireland's property-market collapse has crippled its banks, and the government has so far spent €33 billion ($44.5 billion), about one-fifth of its gross domestic product, rescuing them.

The liquidator of the well known legal search company, Brennans Law Searchers Limited, has confirmed he has entered into a license agreement with Brady & Co. (Law Searchers) Limited as part of the creditors’ voluntary liquidation process, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Ken Fennell of kavanaghfennell has been appointed liquidator to the company. “The licence agreement offers the opportunity to safeguard the business and jobs while we undergo the sales process”, said Mícheál Leydon of kavanaghfennell, who is also involved in the liquidation.

It is unthinkable that Ireland or its banks would default on senior debt, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said on Wednesday. Opposition politicians and some media commentators have called on Lenihan to force bondholders in Anglo Irish Bank to take some of the hit for the nationalised lender's massive losses, which are a major burden on the exchequer. "It's unthinkable that Ireland would default on senior debt or that Ireland's banks would default on senior debt," Lenihan told Reuters in parliament.

Former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick has a net income of just €188 per month, according to documents furnished to the High Court, The Irish Times reported. A statement of affairs, provided to the court as part of Mr FitzPatrick’s bankruptcy proceedings, disclosed that the former bank chief has debts of more than €145 million, compared to assets of just over €47 million. During a brief hearing yesterday, the court was told State-owned Anglo Irish Bank was withdrawing its application to have its own trustee appointed to replace official assignee Chris Lehane.

An interim report by the examiner of several Irish companies in the McInerney Group may have enormous implications for the rights of creditors and the examinership process, according to a leading corporate restructuring and insolvency solicitor, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Julie Murphy-O’Connor is a partner in the Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency Law Group at Matheson Ormsby Prentice solicitors. She said the report by the examiner, Billy Riordan of Price Waterhouse Coopers, will be of major interest to Irish lenders and companies.

The closure of Bank of Scotland Ireland (BOSI) at the end of the year will leave many small and medium Irish businesses in a “precarious situation” in relation to short-term financing such as invoice discounting and overdraft facilities, according to the CEO of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise (ISME) association, InsolvencyJournal.ie reported. Mark Fielding mentioned hotels, in particular, as potentially having trouble sourcing alternate working capital. “Very few of them would have good accounts to show for the past two years,” he said.

The tactic of investors buying bank debt to gain control of distressed companies is set to increase, a leading insolvency expert has predicted, The Irish Times reported. Tom Kavanagh, a partner in Kavanagh Fennell, acted as receiver for the Irish operations of Calyx Group, which was forced into receivership on September 3rd after Better Capital bought its debt from Anglo Irish Bank. Calyx, a diverse group of technology companies with operations in Ireland and Britain, had been struggling with debts of more than €100 million.

The Quinn Group has heavily criticised the Financial Regulator’s decision yesterday not to allow Quinn Insurance Limited (QIL), which is in administration, to write new commercial business in the UK, The Irish Times reported. Quinn Group said commercial UK business was QIL’s most “profitable” line in 2009 and 2010 and the decision “should be reconsidered” by the regulator. Quinn Group remains Quinn Insurance Ltd’s ultimate shareholder, even though the regulator appointed joint administrators on March 30th.

The High Court has confirmed the appointment of an examiner to housebuilding firm McInerney Homes and a number of related companies, The Irish Times reported. Mr Justice Frank Clarke ruled that examiner William O’Riordan of PricewaterhouseCoopers must address a number of issues of concern to the court by early October or the process, opposed by a syndicate of three banks which are owed €113 million by McInerney, could be terminated.