Ireland’s worst bank fears ‘surpassed’
Ireland’s banks may need at least $42.7 billion in new capital after a real estate slump left them crippled by mounting bad loans.
The fund-raising requirement was announced after the National Asset Management Agency, the country’s so-called bad bank, said it would pay 53 cents on the dollar for the first block of loans it is buying from lenders, and the financial regulator set new capital targets. The discount compares with the government’s estimate of 70 cents.
“Our worst fears have been surpassed,” Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said in Parliament in Dublin on Tuesday.
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