AIB TWICE AS LIKELY AS BANK OF IRELAND TO PURSUE CUSTOMERS - AIB, the State-owned bank, is twice as likely as its main rival, Bank of Ireland, to pursue its customers through the courts over unpaid debts, according to official court records.
An analysis by The Irish Times of all summary judgment cases filed since the beginning of the year reveals AIB is by far the most aggressive bank in the State when it comes to filing such High Court actions against debtors. Summary judgments applications are when banks or other lenders apply to the court for a fast-track ruling without a trial or witness evidence. Edmund Honohan, the Master of the High Court and a brother of Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan, has previously criticised banks for the volume of summary judgment cases, questioning whether they give borrowers a fair chance to defend themselves. AIB had, by the end of last week, filed at least 275 summary judgment actions in 2015 against its customers over unpaid or disputed debts, more than 40% of the total in the State. Bank of Ireland, which has a larger loan book than AIB, had filed only about 140 cases. Bank of Ireland, however, is twice as likely as AIB to resort to court action against homeowners over mortgage arrears. About 73 of Bank of Ireland’s applications, more than half its total, were in the name of its mortgage bank.
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US RIVAL 'EYES €8.1 BILLION BID' FOR SMURFIT KAPPA - US-based International Paper is considering an €8.1 billion takeover of Dublin-listed Smurfit Kappa, according to weekend media reports. Tennessee-based International Paper is "believed to be exploring a bid" for Smurfit Kappa at €36 a share, according to at least one report says the Irish Independent. International Paper is reported to have hired Deutsche Bank to help with the bid. A bid for Smurfit Kappa would be the latest in a series of takeovers of European companies by US rivals as the dollar's recent gains make European companies look cheap. FedEx said last week that it plans to buy the Dutch parcel-delivery firm TNT Express for €4.4bn. US drinks packaging giant Bell recently agreed a takeover of the UK's Rexam. Smurfit Kappa is one of the biggest companies on the Dublin stock exchange, while chief executive Gary McGann is the best paid. The shares have risen 67% in the last 12 months, making it the best performing blue-chip stock in Dublin amid persistent rumours that the company might be sold. Amcor, an Australian paper company, has also been mooted as a buyer.
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US COMPANIES ON COURSE TO RETURN $1 TRILLION TO SHAREHOLDERS IN 2015 - Shareholders in the biggest US companies stand to receive a record $1 trillion in cash this year, as blue chips’ concerns over the global economic outlook have diverted cash away from investment and is driving a boom in buybacks and dividends. Shareholder returns reached more than $903 billion in 2014, with $350 billion in dividends and $553 billion in buybacks, official data from S&P Dow Jones Indices show. It expects buybacks to rise at a “double-digit” rate this year. Dividends have climbed on average 14% annually over the past four years. Many strategists expect this pace of growth to continue this year, which would put returns at just above $400 billion, writes the Financial Times. Goldman Sachs forecasts buybacks to reach $604 billion. Combined, returns would surpass the $1 trillion mark for the first time in US history. The combination of slowing emerging market economies, concerns about the pace of the recovery in some developed markets and falling oil prices are driving down expectations for capital investment growth. This has prompted US blue chips to shift their focus, becoming the largest buyers of shares on the S&P 500 since the financial crisis, dwarfing domestic investors and helping propel the ageing bull market into its seventh year.
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RETAILERS STRUGGLE TO MAKE PROFITS FROM SOARING ONLINE SALES - Shopping habits are shifting so quickly that the amount spent through smartphone and tablet purchases is expected to soar nearly five-fold within a decade, according to experts. The London Independent says that currently, people in the UK spend around £9.7 billion on mobile devices, but that is set to jump to £53.6 billion by 2024. However, it comes as a survey of retail chief executives found that fewer than one in five believes that online sales can be profitable. Most high-street retailers have seen a huge boost in the use of online sales, with purchases on tablets and smartphones having jumped further than most, and some have already predicted that it will overtake sales made through a traditional desktop or laptop computer. Richard Lowe, managing director and head of retail and wholesale at Barclays, said: “The size of the retail opportunity is clear for all to see. “The question every retailer should be asking themselves is what they are doing about it to not only satisfy today’s consumer, but also tomorrow’s.” The number of tablet users has doubled in each of the past two years, with almost half of adults now owning one, while smartphones are now owned by 61% of the population, expected to rise to 75% by 2019. Barclays also predicts that around 42% of all retail sales will involve a mobile device.
