If there is any further dragging of heels by the banks, he must exercise the full range of powers at his disposal — and demand more from Donohoe if necessary, writes Daniel McConnell, Political Editor

WHEN record end-of-year tax returns, up 5% to €47.86bn, were announced in recent days, it was also pointed out that this small country’s interest bill was €6.74bn, a little more than 10% of the bank bailout. 

It used to be the case that reports on the health of European banks merited front-page headlines. Former regulators such as Matthew Elderfield and Patrick Honohan were household names.

A deal has been agreed for the transfer of Quinn Insurance’s portfolio of UK and European legacy liabilities to a subsidiary of Bermuda-based Catalina Holdings.

The Central Bank yesterday announced a new chief economist, Gabriel Fagan, who will take up the role in October having left the ECB.

Central Bank chief Patrick Honohan has said a broad and effective banking inquiry will go a long way to restoring confidence in the financial regulatory system and in Irish public affairs in general.

Sharon Donnery is taking over from Fiona Muldoon as the director of credit institutions at the Central Bank with immediate effect.

The Irish Central Bank official responsible for supervising banking and insurance is to step down, the bank said yesterday, the latest in a series of high-profile resignations at the institution.

Developing a coherent and effective framework is the biggest challenge facing regulators in the post-crisis environment, according to the new deputy governor of the Central Bank, Cyril Roux.

We're all on the same page here. There are people who are OK and people who are not OK.

The selection of Frenchman Cyril Roux as financial regulator and deputy Central Bank governor in succession to Matthew Elderfield has caught a few people on the hop, although the appointment has received a broad, if cautious, welcome.

The Central Bank has appointed a French official to take over as financial regulator, the second foreigner in succession to fill the role.

Today is the anniversary of the death of Michael Collins and we mark the occasion by publishing a fresh look at how Collins as finance minister of the day might have reacted to the crisis besetting modern Ireland.

The identity of Ireland's next Financial Regulator has been revealed.

The Central Bank still has to appoint a head of the financial stability division three years after the previous head left the post.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the country was convulsed in the run up to the passage of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill through the Oireachtas.

There were two significant economic developments this week. Both Finance Minister Michael Noonan and the deputy governor of the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, said that the stress tests of the banks would be carried out over the first half of 2014 to coincide with the EU-wide stress tests.

The bank stress tests will be held in two phases with an asset quality review scheduled for later this year followed by stress tests in the first half of next year, the deputy governor of the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, said.

The governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, has gifted €63,324 of his €276,324 salary to the State, it was revealed in its annual report.

The financial regulator is hanging up his boots come October. Kyran Fitzgerald casts a cold eye over his performance and achievements in the role, which he has occupied since Jan 2010, and the list of likely successors

I note that Minister Michael Noonan states that Financial Regulator Matthew Elderfield leaves “when normality is returning to the financial system”.

Central Bank deputy governor Matthew Elderfield will leave the post in October to pursue other interests in the UK.

The Government has expressed disappointment that the deputy Governor of the Central Bank is resigning.

The deputy governor of the Central Bank of Ireland has said that he feels that Ireland has "a strong regulator" of the banks.

The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Matthew Elderfield has resigned.

And you thought it couldn’t get any worse.

The Central Bank and the Government want debt writedowns to form part of the solutions to the mortgage arrears crisis, but ultimately the decision is up to the banks.

New measures to tackle the mortgage arrears crisis offer no hope to borrowers and effectively “throw them to the wolves”, campaigners have claimed.

Home repossessions will “rise significantly”, the financial regulator has warned, saying it was an “unpalatable fact” that lenders would no longer hold back.

The Government has unveiled plans to come up with solutions for 95,000 homeowners who are unable to pay their mortgages.

The introduction of the Basel III banking regulations will have huge implications for the Irish banking sector, particularly the ability of banks to write off unsustainable mortgage debt.

The deputy governor of the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, welcomed recent announcements by the pillar banks that long-term loan modifications would form part of the range of solutions to the mortgage arrears crisis.

Homeowners experiencing mortgage difficulties and who do not engage with their banks, now face legal proceedings.

The methodology for the next round of bank stress tests scheduled for July still has to be decided, although the outcome will have huge implications for the banks.

The benefits for the Irish economy and banking system from a European banking union will far outweigh any potential downsides, the former government adviser Alan Ahearne has argued.

The prosecution rate of white collar crimes in this country is below the level that is expected by the public.

The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank is calling for new measures to fight against white collar crime.

Financial regulator Matthew Elderfield has said that progress made on the establishment of the European Banking Authority — the single supervisory body devised at June’s European Summit — should boost confidence in Ireland as it prepares to exit its bailout programme next year.

The widespread disruption to Ulster Bank’s services over the summer caused by a technology breakdown has so far cost the bank €103m, although the final tally could be higher if more complaints are lodged.

The corrosive culture that pervades the Irish banking sector must be eliminated, the deputy governor of the Central Bank Matthew Elderfield declared yesterday in a key address at UCC.

Bankers must have left their federation lunch this week with a bad taste in the mouth after Central Bank regulator Fiona Muldoon lambasted them for failing to adequately deal with the mortgage debt crisis, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

The registrar of credit unions, James O’Brien, is set to leave his post at the end of the year to take up a new position with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.

A senior Fine Gael figure has accused the brother of bankrupt billionaire Seán Quinn of dishonouring the role of GAA president.

A senior Fine Gael figure has accused the brother of bankrupt billionaire Sean Quinn of dishonouring the role of GAA president.

The regulatory landscape is set to change across the EU on the back of developments to create a single European banking supervisor, the deputy governor of the Central Bank Matthew Elderfield told a conference in Dublin yesterday.

A daughter of Seán Quinn has said if her family could rectify its finances and free her brother from prison, they would do it immediately.

WE demonise as ‘sharks’ the greedy financial fools who laid this country so low, but that is to credit them with too much cunning and glamour — they were just dolphins on the make.

Seán Quinn last night claimed financial regulator Matthew Elderfield “illegally put an administrator into Quinn Direct” even though it was ” probably one of the most profitable insurers on the island of Ireland”.

If you had arrived direct from Mars, a radio interview yesterday with Sean Quinn Sr and his daughter Colette-Marie would have melted your heart, says Michael Clifford