TAXPAYERS SET TO REAP €3.5 BILLION FROM PART-SALE OF STATE'S STAKE IN AIB - Taxpayers are on course to recoup close to €3.5 billion early next year from a part privatisation of AIB through the stock market. A deal would be among the biggest ever on the Irish Stock Exchange, which is seen as the most likely venue for a primary float, writes the Irish Independent. While tax payers would reap the vast bulk of the cash, an IPO will prove a bonanza for brokers, underwriters and corporate law firms, who will expect to pick up around 1% of the value of any deal in fees for nursing the bank back onto the markets. Panels of brokers and banks that will advise the Department of Finance on bank privatisations are due to be named in the next 10 days. The financial advisers are being appointed to three panels, and specific underwriters and advisors to work on sales of the State's stakes in AIB, Bank of Ireland and eventually Permanent TSB will be selected from the panels. Selling AIB, which cost €20.8 billion to bail out, is by far the most important element in the bank privatisation plans. A spokesman for the Department of Finance confirmed yesterday that it has written to investment banks and corporate advisors in recent days advising them that they will be named to the official panels of approved financial advisors to the Government in the next 10 days. It's thought a mix of international and Irish firms have made the cut.
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LEVY ON PRIVATE PENSIONS SET TO EXCEED €2 BILLION - The Government’s accumulated private pension levy proceeds are set to exceed €2 billion with the collection today of an estimated €700 million on foot of the increase in the charge this year, writes the Irish Times. Thanks to rising stock markets, a modest pre-budget boost to the public finances is expected when pension funds deliver their portion of the levy to the Revenue this morning. A further €135 million yield is anticipated in 2015, although pension industry and business interests are lobbying for the elimination of the charge in next month’s Budget. Minister for Finance Michael Noonan had projected a €675 million yield this year, but the return is now likely to come in ahead of that target. According to the Irish Association of Pension Funds, the aggregate payment may reach some €700 million. Such a return from the levy, introduced in May 2011 in the first year of the EU/IMF bailout, would come in well ahead of the €550 million expected this year from property tax. While the property tax and, indeed, the new water charge have attracted considerably more public controversy than the pension levy, the 2014 collection today will bring net proceeds to some €2.18 billion in four years.
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‘CRACKS’ IN GLASS CEILING AS WOMEN MAKE UP 18.6% OF CORPORATE BOARDS - The percentage of women on corporate boards in the European Union has risen to a record 18.6%, showing "cracks" in the so-called glass ceiling, the EU said. However, Ireland languished in a 21st position, with women comprising just 10.5% of the boards of large listed companies here, says the Irish Examiner. That proportion of female board members at large publicly traded companies, based on data from April, is up from 17.8% in October 2013, the European Commission said. Ireland’s mark has increased 2.1% in that time. The level is less than half the 40% target the commission, the EU executive, has set out in draft legislation now being considered by EU governments. “The cracks have started to show in the glass ceiling,” EU justice commissioner Martine Reicherts said. “Since October 2010, the share of women on boards has risen by 7.6% points.” At the same time, only 3.3% of Europe’s biggest companies have a female chief executive, according to the report. While that’s up from 2.3% last October, it is the same level as three years ago. The data covers over 600 of the largest publicly listed companies in the EU. Latvia and France lead the bloc in the percentage of female non-executive board members, at 31.4% and 30.4%, respectively.
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KPMG HELPS STAFF UP PROPERTY LADDER WITH MORTGAGE MOVE - KPMG has joined forces with Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks to give its employees a leg up on to the London property ladder, as it seeks to address the increasing inaccessibility of the city’s housing market to all but the highest earners. The initiative, which KPMG unveiled to staff on Wednesday, is part of a private banking package for employees that includes preferential mortgage rates negotiated by the professional services firm, writes the Financial Times. Simon Collins, UK chairman of the professional services firm, said: “Owning a home is fast becoming a fairytale for all but society’s wealthiest. We are working hard to raise the issue with policy makers and clients but we also want to make a tangible difference to our staff who also face this problem.” The difficulty of getting on to the London housing ladder, even for relatively well-paid young professionals, has become a hot topic among City employers. But as yet, there has been little evidence of any significant employer addressing the issue head-on. Mortgage brokers said corporations were unlikely to sign up to long-term commitments, such as guaranteeing the housing debt of employees who may subsequently leave. David Hollingworth, director at broker London & Country Mortgages, said: “If a firm has signed up as a guarantor then they’ll be liable for the mortgage, whether the employee is there or not.”
