€738m BoI boost will 'help speed up bad loan transfers'

Funding of $1bn (€738m) which the Bank of Ireland (BOI) raised yesterday is expected to lead to a speeding up of the transfer of under-performing property loans to the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).

The Government will be anxious to see the money which the bank raised in dollars pumped into the economy as quickly as possible in order to make funds available to small businesses — the backbone of the economy — and to provide an increased level of mortgages, particularly for young people.