FIGHT NOW ON TO PRESERVE QUINN INSURANCE JOBS AND BUSINESS - Michael McAteer, who as of yesterday at 3pm, was confirmed administrator of Quinn Insurance. The fight is now on to preserve the business and thousands of jobs in Cavan, Fermanagh and Dublin as well as the interests of hundreds of thousands of policy holders around the country and the UK.
Michael McAteer says the most important thing is that some clarity in relation to the administrator's role at Quinn Insurance and under the law, its role is to manage the business, trade it as a going concern and ensure that the company returns to a sound financial footing. In that regard, all policy holders and customers can be assured that they can continue to do business with Quinn with complete and absolute confidence, he adds. He says the more people that do business with Quinn, the more secure the jobs at the company are.
Regarding a sale of the company, Mr McAteer says there are a number of options available, but adds that it is 'way too soon' to work through all these options yet. He says that currently the main shareholder in the insurance firm remains the Quinn Group and he says that he if believes it is the right course of action, the administrators can sell the business and its assets. He says that course of action has not even been considered at this stage because it is well within the remit of its owner to return the company to a sound financial footing to the satisfaction of the administrators, the Financial Regulator and the High Court.
Mr McAteer says he believes it will not be difficult to find a buyer for the company as Quinn Insurance has a good business model in certain respects and has been historically profitable. He says the Regulator has issues with the company's solvency issues and not its profitability.
He also says no discussions with potential suitors have yet taken place, including Anglo Irish Bank.
The administrator says the regulator was provided with further information yesterday as part of efforts to have the ban on selling in to the UK lifted. He says that losses on the UK side of Quinn Insurance have had a detrimental impact on the business but some lines are profitable.
***
MORNING BRIEFS - Bank of Ireland has announced that it is planning to sell a number of its business divisions, including the life and pensions business, New Ireland Assurance, the ICS Building Society and its investment management business, Bank of Ireland Asset Management . Details of the divestments are included in the terms on which approval will be given to its restructuring plan with the EU and clears the way for Bank of Ireland to seek funding in the market.
