THE Irish economy will grow by an extra 5% a year in 2006 and 2007 as consumer spending accelerates by up to 7%, funded by the release of €16 billion from Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIA).

SPECULATION is mounting that AIB will sell out of its US minority stake in M&T valued at €2.3 billion.

IRISH Life & Permanent is on course to meet all its targets for this year, buoyed by the strong Irish economy and a labour market that rose 70,000 in 2004.

INVESTORS in insurance-to-leisure group FBD could be in line for significant dividend hikes.

INSURER FBD plans more insurance premium price cuts after reporting a 27.7% increase in pre-tax profits to €135 million.

SHARES in Irish banks should increase by 10% this year, with AIB Bank heading for growth of 11.7%, according to Davy Stockbrokers.

A MORTGAGE refinancing boom is in store for homeowners when new lending slows down and brokers come under pressure to drum up replacement business, Davy Stockbrokers predicted yesterday.

RESIDENTIAL mortgage holders will save more that €300 million a year as increased competition erodes the profit margins banks and building societies make, analysts said yesterday.

US top 20 bank M&T, 22.5% owned by AIB, is set to report a jump in operating profits by close to 17% next week.

THE surprise €1.4 billion purchase by Denmark’s Danske Bank of the Northern Bank and National Irish Bank (NIB) from National Australia Bank (NAB) will not result in any jobs losses among the workforce of 3,100.

BUY car insurance from FBD, whatever about their shares, is the clear message from Davy Stockbroker’s insurance and banking sector expert Scott Rankin.

SHAREHOLDERS in AIB can look forward to solid results when the bank releases figures for the first six months of the year next Tuesday, according to Davy stockbrokers.

THE €150 million loss recorded by AIB on the sale of British asset management arm Govett was defended by chairman Dermot Gleeson at the bank's annual general meeting yesterday.

AIB BANK’S €2 billion investment in US bank M&T is not a sustainable strategy, according to Davy Stockbrokers, who believe AIB will exit the investment in the medium term.

BANK of Ireland's financial services joint venture with the British Post Office could be worth between stg£800m and stg£1 billion in four to five years, according to Davy Stockbrokers.

AIB’s investment in M&T, the American bank in which it has a 22.5% stake, is significantly undervalued by the market and not reflected in the AIB share price, according to Davy Stockbrokers.

THE stockbroking arms of the two largest Irish banks yesterday, independently of each other, simultaneously recommended the shares in the rival financial institution as a “buy.”

ANGLO IRISH BANK and AIB Bank share prices are expected to increase substantially according to stockbroking houses.

THE markets will reward AIB and Bank of Ireland for their €1 billion plus share buyback programme, Merrion Stockbrokers said.

AIB’S €2.2 billion, 22.5% stake in one of the US’s top 20 banks, M&T Bank, is not reflected in AIB’s share price, according to Davy Stockbrokers.

PROSPECTIVE takeover target First Active is expected to announce an increase in pre-tax profits of close to 9.4% for the first half of the year.

BANK of Ireland's in-house stockbroking company, Davy, has issued a very positive buy recommendation on arch rival AIB Bank, forecasting a healthy 20% share price gain.

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.

INITIAL analysis of the impact of the 0.5% cut in ECB interest rates suggested the two big banks could lose €15m each if they passed on the full reduction to consumers.

AIB and Bank of Ireland's share buy-back sprees could continue over the next two years, as management at both banks use the tactic to support earnings in the face of reduced growth.

THE aggressive move by Bank of Scotland, Ireland (BOSI) for dominance of the Irish business banking market is expected to force the AIB and Bank of Ireland to pay more interest on current accounts, according to some Irish brokers.

BANK OF IRELAND shares are deemed a buy as the company heads for profits of €1,214m, up 8%, driven by double-digit profit growth in Ireland.

THE raising of €507 million by Bank of Ireland is a prelude to an acquisition in Britain or an optimisation of the bank’s capital efficiency, depending on which of the main stockbrokers you listen to.

NEWS that Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is to go after the corporate cheque book business in the Irish market could cost the two big banks a combined €60m in lost profits.

FEARS that consumers will bear the brunt the €300 million levy imposed on the banks was one of the hot post-Budget topics yesterday.

FBD the only Irish-owned insurance company is trading at a discount, according to Davy Stockbrokers, who said it was an attractive investment.

Shares in AIB slumped by 20% on both the Dublin and London stock exchanges in early trading today in response to the news of a fraud investigation at AIB subsidiary Allfirst.