Banks wrote off an average of 66% worth of secured debt following a bankruptcy, according to a sample of 50 cases taken in the past year.
The data, compiled by Insolvency Resolution Service, shows that banks realised just €5.17m from the sample cases, which had a total secured debt of over €15.1m.
A further €4.9m in unsecured debt was also written off in these 50 cases.
This compares to a 16% write-off in the average personal insolvency arrangement case, which allows for the restructuring or settling of secured debt up to €3m.
Mitchell O’Brien from Insolvency Resolution Service said that personal insolvency had a more positive outcome for banks and borrowers in the vast majority of cases they had dealt with.
This suggested that some creditors “continue to act irrationally”, he said.
The company has suggested that changes were made to the rules on bankruptcy and insolvency, to put curbs on a bank’s ability to veto restructuring proposals.
This would force a bank to go before a court for approval if it tried to veto an insolvency proposal that offered a better potential return than bankruptcy.
