Banking guarantee extension welcomed

FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan says he welcomes the European Commission’s decision yesterday to extend the country’s banking guarantee plan by a further six months to the end of December.

This “is part of the necessary state support for the banking sector to facilitate the completion of the institutions’ restructuring plans, in which they clearly demonstrate their intention to progressively reduce and ultimately eliminate their reliance on the state guarantee,” said Mr Noonan.

The extension of the guarantee plan “means that bonds and deposits issued or rolled over before December 31 will be guaranteed under the scheme up to maturity, subject to a maximum maturity of five years,” the Minister for Finance said.