THE FINANCIAL regulator has retained accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to carry out further investigations at the six guaranteed Irish-owned financial institutions after receiving a report on the findings of its initial audit of loans at the six lenders.
The regulator has extended the accountancy firm's work at AIB, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish Bank, Irish Life Permanent (ILP), EBS and Irish Nationwide for several more weeks.
The firm will complement the work of the regulator's authorised officers, who have been working in the head offices of the six institutions since last week.
The regulator directed PwC more than a month ago to assess the scale of bad debts on the loan books of the six lenders and to determine if they have adequately provided for losses on loans, particularly to builders who are struggling due to the sharp downturn in the construction sector.
The investigation was launched prior to the State's bank guarantee, which covers deposits and debts totalling about €440 million at the six financial institutions.
The regulator has also asked PwC to assess the extent to which the four banks and two building societies are delaying the collection of interest payments on loans to builders and developers.
A spokeswoman for the regulator would only repeat an earlier statement in which she said: "We are drilling down into the figures to get a detailed, comprehensive analysis of the individual loans."
She declined to comment further on the nature of the extra work being carried out by PwC.
The authority (board) of the regulator held a scheduled meeting this week at which it discussed the initial findings of the audit carried out by the accountancy firm.
The regulator had expected the firm to complete its initial audit of the six loans book by the end of October, although their work is likely to continue for some time.
The authority will receive regular reports from the firm updating their findings over the coming weeks.
Bank shares rallied strongly yesterday in Dublin and traders reported larger numbers of international buyers as investors expect more detail on the banks' capital positions in trading updates over the coming weeks.
Bank of Ireland gained 41 per cent to €2.30. Anglo rose 25.6 per cent to €2.50, while ILP also rose 25.6 per cent, to €2.70. AIB finished 15 per cent higher at €4.21. Bank of Ireland made the biggest gain over the week, rising 43 per cent.
