InShort

A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

Credit union group 'must reinvent itself'

The credit union movement must reinvent itself for the 21st century, the Dáil Committee heard yesterday from Bill Hobbs, chief executive of the Credit Union Development Association (Cuda).

In order to contend with "worrying signs" such as an aging membership, difficulty in recruiting unpaid volunteers and increasing levels of bad debt, credit unions must reform and adapt to change, Mr Hobbs said.

The reforms include a more flexible regulatory system, the provision of a wider range of savings and lendings products, and Government-backed depositor insurance to protect members' savings, Mr Hobbs said.

AIB offers €2,000 to first-time buyers

AIB is offering a €2,000 cash incentive to first-time buyers who take out a mortgage with the bank.

To qualify for the bonus, borrowers must receive a letter of offer between October 9th and the end of the year.

They must also draw down the mortgage by the end of 2006.

Commercial court cases take 14 weeks

According to a new report released yesterday by McCann Fitzgerald solicitors, it takes on average 14 weeks for a case to pass through the Commercial Court.

The report, issued to coincide with the two-year anniversary of the creation of the court, found that 41 per cent of cases have proceeded to trial, while 43 per cent have been settled during the course of proceedings. It also found that almost 40 per cent of the cases involved a party or parties from outside Ireland, with 17 per cent coming from the UK.

Signature Capital buys €54m site

Signature Capital, which has offices in Berlin and Dublin, has bought a high-street retail property in Germany worth €54 million. The 130,000sq ft building is located on the main pedestrian shopping street in the city of Essen in the Rhine region. Signature Capital was founded in 2004 by bankers Ciarán McNamara and Enda Woods.

Ryanair passenger numbers jump 17%

Ryanair's passenger numbers jumped 17 per cent since September 2005 to reach 3.5 million last month. This figure includes "no-show" customers who booked a seat but did not turn up for their flight.

However, the ratio of passengers to seats available fell by 1 per cent over the last year to 86 per cent.

The airline's passengers for the 12 months to September 30th was just below the 39 million mark.

SSIA savers urged to take out pension

SSIA savers are being urged by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority to reinvest their savings in a pension when their SSIA matures. Research has shown that just 3 per cent of SSIA holders intend to use their savings to start or top-up a pension.