In an interview with the Sunday Independent, a project manager for Germany's biggest bank, Sparkasse, claims the Department of Finance is slowing its ability to enter the Irish market. Harald Felzen claims this is due to the department's interest in protecting the Exchequer's shareholdings in AIB and Bank of Ireland.
Staying with the housing crisis, the Sunday Business Post reports that a senior Central Bank official has poured cold water on the idea of allowing credit unions to lend to social housing funds, saying it will not provide a "silver bullet" for their future viability. Credit unions have been seeking changes to the regulations to allow them lend to so-called approved housing bodies.
Almost half of the housing land sold by Nama is "unviable" for development, the Sunday Business Post writes. It states the paper has obtained internal agency documents suggesting several reasons for the failure to develop, including planning requirements and securing permissions. The document reveals that 90.2 per cent of the sites sold by Nama did not have planning permission, according to the Post.
The board of Irish plastics firm One51 is exploring a listing within the next 12 to 18 months, according to the Sunday Independent. The paper says the firm is targeting a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The controversial artists' tax exemption scheme is under investigation by the Department of Finance, reports the Sunday Independent. The cost of the scheme to the Exchequer has almost doubled in just two years.
Online recruitment firm Indeed is in advanced negotiations to lease space for up to 1,000 new staff in two office blocks at Capital Docks in Dublin. According to the Sunday Times, the firm plans to double its Irish workforce to 2,000, making Indeed one of the largest tech firms in the capital.
The former boss of British lending firm Provident Financial earned more than £35 million during his tenure as chief executive, a sum likely to anger investors sitting on huge losses following the firm's startling meltdown reckons the Sunday Telegraph. Peter Crook stood down last Tuesday after the group sent out its second profit warning in three months and saw around £1.7 billion wiped off its value overnight.
