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NatWest to take Permanent TSB stake in Ulster Bank loans transfer

Seen & heard: global tax rate above 15%; phasing out leasing of social housing; Poolbeg to seek Nasdaq listing

Ulster Bank parent NatWest is expected to take a stake in Permanent TSB as part of the transfer of €9 billion in loans. Photograph: Alan Betson

Sun Jul 18 2021 - 11:41

Ulster Bank parent NatWest is reported to be on the verge of signing an agreement with Permanent TSB on the transfer of €9 billion of the departing lender’s loans in a deal that would see the British bank take a stake of between 10 and 20 per cent in the Irish lender, the Sunday Times reports. The loans would include non-tracker mortgages and consumer and micro-business lending. A memorandum of understanding could be signed with days, according to sources.

Global corporate tax rate could top 15 per cent

The global minimum tax rate due to be agreed by global leaders later this year could end up being a "a bit" higher than 15 per cent and will go ahead even if Ireland refuses to sign up to the agreement, the head of tax reform at the OECD has said, according to a report in the Business Post.

“The next step [in the process] is to finalise the political deal in October. There is not much to do. We just have to firm up a few numbers like the global minimum tax rate. The rate will be at least 15 per cent, but it could be a bit higher,” said Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of tax policy and administration at the OECD and the main architect of the proposed global tax reforms currently under negotiation.

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Leasing of social housing from investment funds to be phased out

New leases for social housing will be phased out over the lifetime of this Government, and local authorities will be asked to embark on a major compulsory purchase spree of vacant units as part of the new Housing For All strategy, the Business Post writes.

Housing For All, the Government’s new plan to manage the housing crisis is due to be published on July 27th, will centre around funding for the direct build and ownership of social housing by the State and incentives for the construction of affordable housing.

US fashion brand opens in Dublin

Fashion retailer American Eagle Outfitters is establishing a physical presence in Ireland, the Sunday Times and the Sunday Independent both report. A first store will open in Dublin’s Jervis Shopping Centre in early August with a second in Newbridge’s Whitewater Shopping Centre later in the year.

Sunil Shah, the retail executive behind the Irish operations of Skechers, Tommy Hilfiger and Pepe – and who recently opened a standalone Asics store on O’Connell Street in Dublin – has secured the European bricks and mortar rights to the brand.

Poolbeg to bypass Dublin and seek Nasdaq listing

Infectious disease specialist Poolbeg Pharma plans to list on New York's Nasdaq in the coming months, according to its chairman Cathal Friel, the Sunday Independent reports. The company was last week spun out by its parent, pharmaceutical services firm Open Orphan, and announced it was preparing a £25 million (€29m) IPO on London's AIM index. Friel has since told the Sunday Independent that Poolbeg is planning a dual listing in New York and London.

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