In Short

A round-up of today's other business news in brief

Lending to businesses fell again in May

Lending to businesses fell again in May, with the rate of decline accelerating further during the month, data from the Central Bank showed yesterday.

Credit to non-financial corporations (NFCs) fell by 3.4 per cent in the year to the end of May 2010. This follows revised declines of 3.3 per cent in March and 2.9 per cent in April.

The stock of credit outstanding to institutions in Ireland was €128.5 billion at the end of May, a fall from €134.2 billion at the end of April as the transfer of loans to the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) took effect.

The decline was also attributed to an increase in impairment provisions.

External debt up to 1.67 trillion

Ireland’s external debt rose to €1.67 trillion at the end of March, according to the Central Statistics Office.

The gross external debt of all resident sectors, which includes general government, the monetary authority, financial and non-financial corporations and households, totalled €1.67 billion at the end of March, a rise of €58 billion compared to the end of December 2009.

General government foreign borrowing rose almost €8 billion in the period, reaching €83 billion as new long-term debt securities were issued.

Meanwhile, the liabilities of monetary financial institutions, which consist mostly of loans and debt securities, rose €5 billion to €666 billion, reversing the falling trend that has been seen since September 2008. This represents 40 per cent of the total debt.

21m judgment against solicitor

Limerick-based solicitor Thomas Dalton has consented to €21 million summary judgment orders against him sought by Anglo Irish Bank. The orders relate to personal guarantees linked to €165 million in unpaid loans made to companies and partnerships linked to the Fordmount property group.

Three other solicitors are opposing similar summary judgment orders against them on grounds including that senior Anglo executives gave assurances the guarantees were “empty” and “form-filling exercises” to “keep its files right” and would never be relied upon by the bank. The bank’s action is against Dermot O’Donovan, Michael Sherry, Aidan Frawley and Thomas Dalton, all partners in Dermot G O’Donovan Partners.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly will continue hearing the case today.

Nama submits a revised plan

The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) has submitted a revised business plan to the Department of Finance. A spokesman for Nama said that it submitted the plan yesterday.

The plan is an update on the document published last October which forecast that Nama would make a profit of €5.5 billion by 2020.