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THE IRISH-LED consortium of private investment firms seeking to buy into Bank of Ireland (BoI) and possibly Irish Life Permanent (ILP) in a merged group has told the Government it would be able to lend up to €60 billion to small businesses over five years through the banks.

The Mallabraca consortium, which comprises US private equity giants JC Flowers, the Carlyle Group and a number of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth (state-controlled) funds, is willing to invest up to €5 billion buying into BoI, though its preference is for a stake in a married entity comprising BoI and ILP, two of the State's top-three mortgage lenders. The consortium has also signalled to Government it would be willing to invest more money taking a significant stake in Anglo Irish Bank as well, bringing potential investment to €7 - €8 billion.