IMF loan plan may save €500m

The savings to the exchequer of refinancing Ireland’s IMF loans could be as much as €125m higher than initially thought.

Analysis by Davy Stockbrokers shows that a Government plan to pay back some of the IMF loans early could save the country’s finances as much as €500m per year if either the entire €22bn was repaid or, alternatively, if cash balances were eroded.

The early-repayment plan was originally mooted by Finance Minister Michael Noonan last month with the proposal being to repay €15bn in three tranches of €5bn which, it was estimated, could save the exchequer as much as €375m per annum.