The HSE has received thousands of applications from frontline staff for its three-year career break scheme, raising speculation management will have to turn down a number of applications in order to protect vital services.

Permanent TSB is set to cover the costs for affected customers looking to get accurate personal credit rating reports after admitting that it had, in some cases, supplied wrong information to the Irish Credit Bureau (ICB).

AIB has apologised for an error in its reporting of missed loan repayments to the Irish Credit Bureau (ICB).

Up to 12,000 AIB customers may have been given a poor credit rating because the bank over-reported the level of missed payments.

AIB has apologised for an error in it's reporting of missed loan repayments to the Irish Credit Bureau.

Measures to give savers extra security if a bank fails will be announced by the British government today as part of major reforms for Britain's banking system.

Banking giant Barclays will report another multibillion-pound profit haul tomorrow despite a turbulent year for its powerhouse investment arm.

UK banking stocks lost ground today after British business secretary Vince Cable said proposals for a radical industry shake-up would be accepted in full.

The British government will tomorrow "accept in full" radical plans to shake up the banking industry despite fears the measures will harm the economy, UK Business Secretary Vince Cable said today.

British bank chiefs warned today that plans to ring-fence their higher-risk investment arms would cost the British economy.

THE credit ratings of two top British banks were cut yesterday due to the likelihood of less state support in a future crisis, as Britain sought to reassure investors its banks were well capitalised and able to cope with a European debt crisis.

The London market watchdog has launched an investigation into why UBS failed to spot allegedly fraudulent trading which has cost the Swiss banking giant £1.3bn.

French banking stocks drove another sell-off on world markets today amid renewed fears that Greece would default on its debts.

Britain’s biggest banks saw their shares fall today after a Government-appointed commission unveiled a far-reaching reform package set to cost the industry up to £7bn (€8.1bn) a year.

Irresponsible bankers who take unacceptable risks or mis-sell products to customers should be barred from the profession, UK opposition leader Ed Miliband said today.

UK bank shares rose sharply today amid signs that a far-reaching shake-up of the sector will be delayed until after the country's planned 2015 general election.

Darkening clouds over the UK economy mean the British government would be "barking mad" to press ahead with proposals to reform the banking industry, the director general of the CBI business lobby group said today.

Plans to reform the British banking sector should be put on hold until the UK economy has recovered and taxpayers have been repaid for bailing out the banks, the head of the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has said today.

Taxpayer-backed Lloyds Banking Group is expected to face tough questions at its annual meeting tomorrow over a multi-million-pound pay deal for its new chief executive.

The controversial £7.7m (€8.78m) pay package awarded to Royal Bank of Scotland's boss is expected to be given the all-clear by the British government today despite a widespread backlash over the deal.

British banking stocks gained today after a key report shied away from recommending a full-blown split of their retail and investment arms.

Blue-chip UK banks rallied today after the sector escaped a radical overhaul in a key government-commissioned report.

British banks should ringfence their retail businesses from investment banking operations to protect savers’ deposits under proposals outlined by the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) today.

Proposals for the future of Britain’s banking sector will be sketched out on Monday when the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) delivers its keenly-awaited interim report.

The FTSE 100 Index pushed closer to a six-week high after retail stocks surged following a better-than-expected update from bellwether Marks & Spencer.

BANKS may save about £10 billion (€11.38bn) in capital and other costs under proposals being considered by the Britain’s Independent Commission on Banking aimed at securing the financia lsystem against the collapse of a single lender, a person with knowledge of the plans said.

Dublin: John Moran, the Irish Central Bank’s (ICB) head of wholesale bank supervision, has been temporarily transferred to the Department of Finance to advise on shrinking the balance sheets of debt-laden lenders.

Royal Bank of Scotland is expected to remain in the red tomorrow when the part-nationalised player reveals full-year figures.

Breaking up Britain’s biggest banks would be a mistake and could hold the sector back from supporting economic growth, the CBI business group said today.

London's FTSE 100 Index shrugged off concerns in the banking sector today as a buoyant session on Wall Street helped blue chips make gains.

The UK arm of Smirnoff producer Diageo today said it had settled a two-year dispute with a rival firm over the name of a "confusing" vodka-based drink.

THE Financial Regulator’s office has called for new blood to be introduced to help run the banking sector and for more non-executive directors to join bank boards and to be paid higher salaries.

High street banks are on the cusp of a second credit crunch that threatens to spark another wave of taxpayer bail outs, a think-tank claimed today.

BORROWERS have been urged to check their personal credit reports as “genuine mistakes” could prevent them being approved for a loan.

CREDIT card company MBNA has come under fire from customers over claims the firm is “harassing” people who have fallen behind in their debt repayments.

EVEN those who do not believe that the early human embryo is a full human being would sacrifice the embryo in the interests of advancing biomedical research only with misgivings.

A LETTER from a group of Irish academics (May 13) raised a number of issues in relation to the Irish Council for Bioethics’ (ICB) opinion document on stem cell research.

THE Irish Council for Bioethics (ICB) recently issued an opinion which recommended that frozen IVF embryos could be destroyed for research to generate human embryonic stem cell lines.

THE failure to develop a proper regulatory system for stem cell research undermines the moral value of the human embryo.

THE public are being invited to have their say on the issue of embryonic stem cell research before Government policy is drawn up.

FARMERS have been urged by Teagasc to make the most of their mobile phones. Dr Tom Kelly, programme manager, Teagasc Farm Management and Technology Services, said the use of mobile phones by farmers was a positive development.

THE Irish love affair with property continues. A massive €1.64 billion in mortgages was taken out by house buyers in April as employment growth and the lowest interest rates in 60 years fuelled demand for property.

Adverse swings in the euro exchange rate remain a major risk to competitiveness, requiring a high degree of flexibility on the part of the Irish business sector, the Central Bank warned today.

IRISH banks are contesting Eurostat figures which indicate they are ripping-off Irish business customers by charging the highest interest rates on commercial loans in Europe.