'QUARTER OF BANKS WIPED OUT IN CRISIS' - One in four banks have disappeared from the euro zone since the onset of the financial crisis as banking collapses and a wave of mergers continue to radically reduce the sector's scale.
A new report by the European Central Bank exposes the rate of attrition. In Ireland the number of credit institutions has reduced by a fifth, helped by the decimation of Anglo Irish and Irish Nationwide as well as operational scale-backs from the likes of Danske and Rabo Bank, writes the Irish Independent. The ECB's latest assessment of the region's financial services sector comes as the Central Bank of Ireland revealed the taxpayer-funded rescue of the banks added €58.4 billionn to the nation's gross debt at the end of last year. An economic letter drafted by economists Ronan Hickey, Linda Kane and Diarmaid Smyth, argued it is too early to gauge the "ultimate costs" of the bailout. But they noted the impact of the rescue on Ireland's financial health has been acute, with only Greece suffering from higher outstanding net liabilities at end-2016 due to support provided" to the financial services sector. Recapitalisations account for the bulk of the costs. In total, €48.9 billion of taxpayers' money was injected into Irish banks - lower than the frequently reported €64 billion. The economists stated this was because some of these payments were classified as "financial transactions".
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EASON APPOINTS DILGER AS NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN - Irish books and stationery retailer Eason has chosen former Greencore chief executive David Dilger to be its new nonexecutive chairman from November 1st.
Mr Dilger takes over a role that was previously held by businessman James Osborne, who died in August. The position had been filled in the intervening period by Gervaise Slowey, the former head of Communicorp, who returns to her previous role as a nonexecutive director with Eason, says the Irish Times. Mr Dilger (60) has extensive business and board experience across a range of industries and roles. He was Greencore chief executive between 1991 and 2008, leading the transition of the business from being largely a sugar manufacturer to becoming the world's biggest maker of sandwiches. He had previously served as chief executive of Food Industries plc and was a former chief financial officer at Woodchester Bank. He also served as chairman of the Dublin Airport Authority, and was previously on the boards of Bank of Ireland, James Hardie plc and the Children's Medical & Research Foundation.
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SHELBOURNE HOTELS NARROWS PRE-TAX LOSSES TO €70,000 - The company which operates Dublin’s five-star Shelbourne Hotel made a pre-tax loss of €71,123 last year, after incurring interest charges of over €118,300.
However, that marks a narrowing of its losses, which had stood at €93,387 as of the end of 2015, says the Irish Examiner. Newly-filed accounts for Torriam Hotel Operating Company, which is a subsidiary of international hotel operator Marriott, also show that the Shelbourne’s operating profits rose marginally to €47,200 last year, while revenues increased 10% to €14.68m. Torriam’s revenues are made up of management fees and payroll services. The company’s accumulated losses stood at €12.19m at the end of last year. The company employed 540 people last year, with staff costs increasing from €13m to €14.37m. Directors’ pay went up from €397,503 to €430,258. Torriam had net liabilities totalling €9.7m at the end of last year and a note attached to the accounts states that the hotel’s ultimate parent has confirmed that it will continue to support the business as and when required to enable it to meet its commitments.
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DERIPASKA IPO TESTS WESTERN INVESTOR MOOD - Oleg Deripaska, the metals tycoon, will seek to raise $1.5 billion for his aluminium and hydropower empire in the first Russian initial public offering in London since the Ukraine crisis, a key test of western investor sentiment in the heavily sanctioned country.
EN+ will price its shares and global depository receipts on the Moscow and London exchanges at $14 to $17, the company said, valuing it at $7 billion to $8.5 billion, before issuing the new stock. Mr Deripaska built up his metals and energy empire by acquiring stakes in former state-owned assets in the chaotic years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, writes the Financial Times. VTB Capital, the investment bank, owns 4.35% of EN+, and Mr Deripaska and his family the remainder. He will be the first Russian business owner to attempt an IPO in the London market since Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, which sparked US-led western sanctions against Moscow and chilled interest in Russia as a growing emerging market. "The EN+ IPO is litmus test of investors’ long-term views on the country; speculative attractiveness won’t make this placement attractive," said Vladimir Sklyar, an analyst at Renaissance Capital in Moscow.
