Wind-down firm key for banks

Certus, the company set up by Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to wind down its €29bn loan book in Ireland, has quietly become an essential service provider to nearly all state-owned Irish banks.

Certus recently won contracts with AIB and IBRC, while it looks set to secure a management contract with PTSB and as Nama tenders for insolvency practitioners, Certus will be among the front runners.

Sinn Féin’s finance spok-esman Pearse Doherty said that he cannot understand why the Government was taking a costly outsourcing approach to managing the banks’ broken loan books.