Commission approves amendments to €400bn bank guarantee scheme

THE European Commission has cleared amendments to the state’s €400 billion bank guarantee scheme.

The changes extended the guarantees to financial securities with amaturity of up to five years from the original date of end September 2010. And it will also include debt issued up to June 2010 from the original date in December 2009.

The scheme is aimed at stabilising financial markets by providing guarantees on deposits of up to €100,000 and on debt to eligible banks active on the Irish market.