CREDIT UNION LENDING SLUMPS TO 15-YEAR LOW - Lending by Ireland’s 354 credit unions slumped to a 15-year low of €3.5 billion in the 12 months to June 2015, due to a combination of reduced demand and lending restrictions imposed by the Central Bank.
However, with some €5.5 billion in available funds ready to lend to members, the movement is hopeful that an upturn is on the way, writes the Irish Times. According to the Irish League of Credit Unions’ annual review, loans fell by €166 million, or 4% in the year to June 2015, down to €3.5 billion. The last time credit union loans were at such a level was in 2000. Ed Farrell, chief executive of the ILCU, says that stimulating demand for lending is one of the credit union sector’s greatest challenges at present. "We need loan income to grow," he says, adding that given the restructuring that has taken place in the movement, "it’s now about normal business resuming". There are signs of improvement, albeit moderate. About a third of credit unions grew their loan books during the period, up from 68 in 2014 and 29 in 2013, while in the three months to June 2015, loans were up slightly, growing by 0.06% or €2 million.
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TAYTO BOSS RAY COYLE SIGNS WINDSOR CAR DEAL - Ray Coyle - best known as the owner of the Tayto and Hunky Dory crisp brands - is teaming up with Windsor Motors to invest in its fleet management division. Windsor Motors plans to hive off its fleet management business into a new entity called Autolease Fleet Management, with Windsor and Mr Coyle then taking an equal share of the new firm. It will trade under the Sixt name. The Irish franchise for Germany-based Sixt is owned by Conor Kelly and his wife. Its leasing and fleet management business will become part of the new Autolease entity. Mr Coyle is already an investor in the Sixt leasing business here. Windsor, which controls the Nissan distribution network in Ireland, is owned by the wealthy Kuwaiti Al-Babtain family. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Mr Coyle confirmed that a deal is being progressed but has still to receive clearance from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CPCC). The Commission has already been notified of the planned transaction, and as long as its probe doesn't extend beyond a phase one investigation, a decision is due within a couple of weeks.
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IBRC JUNIOR BONDHOLDERS SUBMIT CLAIMS OF €285m - Junior bondholders of the former Anglo Irish Bank could be in line for a bigger payment than was previously expected after it emerged they have lodged larger-than-expected claims. The liquidation of IBRC has netted more than €16 billion meaning there will be a surplus of about €1.85 billion to be distributed among its unsecured creditors, including junior bondholders, says the Irish Examiner. The State, which is owed €1.1 billion, is ahead of the junior bondholders in the payment queue as are other creditors but those at the bottom of the pile are still likely to be paid, given the size of the surplus. Previous estimates put the maximum cost of claims from unsecured creditors at €270m but it has emerged this figure has been passed. Finance Minister Michael Noonan told the Dáil in reply to a question from Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty that subordinated bondholders have submitted claims of around €285m to date.
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HEDGE FUNDS SUFFER WORST MONTH SINCE OCTOBER 2008 - Hedge funds have suffered their biggest monthly monetary loss since the 2008 financial crisis in the wake of market turbulence that battered the portfolios of some of the industry’s best known investors. The sector as a whole lost $78 billion due to its performance in August, the worst monthly absolute fall in assets since October 2008 - the month following the collapse of Lehman Brothers - according to research by Citi. “The only thing that seemed to work was cash. Of course that’s the one thing they [the hedge funds] don’t have,” said Paul Brain, head of fixed income for Newton Investment Management and a former credit hedge fund manager. Some of the worst hit were funds that specialised in stock picking, with David Einhorn’s $11 billion Greenlight Capital having lost 17% up to the end of September, Daniel Loeb’s $17 billion Third Point down about 4% and Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Holding vehicle down double digits over the summer. Total hedge fund industry assets at the end of August stood at $3.05 trillion, according to Citi, down 0.2% year on year. Total hedge fund assets have doubled since 2008, according to HFR.
