A Cork-based lender has launched an initial €35m fund aimed at growth-orientated SMEs.

Money lending company Provident Financial expects to report a loss of about £120m (€135m) in its consumer credit division for 2017 as it struggles to win back customers following problems at its door-to-door lending business.

A new entrant is eyeing potential “rich pickings” in the Irish mortgage market because home lenders here have failed to cut their standard variable rates, one of the country’s leading mortgage experts has predicted.

The run on Greece’s lenders could have serious economic effects on neighbouring countries too, Standard & Poor’s has warned.