Swedbank, the biggest lender in the Baltics, has bought AIB’s mortgage portfolio in Latvia, growing its business at a time when most European lenders are deleveraging.

Latvia’s largest bank is desperately trying to head off a run among customers unsettled by rumours of its imminent ruin.

THE owners of National Irish Bank, Danske Bank, the second-biggest Nordic lender by market value, may say profit declined in the third quarter after the bank booked losses on bad loans and as an expansion in Ireland and Finland boosted expenses.

BED & BREAKFAST owners are being warned by gardaí about a scam which has cost some proprietors thousands of euro.

CREDIT Suisse First Boston (CSFB) yesterday downgraded several top European banks on valuation grounds but maintained its overweight rating on the sector.