First Interim Dividend Paid to Unsecured Creditors of IBRC
The first interim dividend of 25% was paid to all admitted unsecured creditors of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), the Department of Finance said on Tuesday.
“The payment of the interim dividend will benefit a wide range of unsecured creditors, including the State, who have been creditors of IBRC since its liquidation in February 2013,” Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said. “This payment highlights the success of the liquidation to date, which has far exceeded our expectations at its outset.
“As the largest unsecured creditor of the liquidation, this payment from the Joint Special Liquidators to the State will improve the exchequer borrowing requirement as the funds received will increase the cash balances of the Central Fund and thereby reduce the required level of borrowing. Department of Finance related claims in the region of €1.12bn were submitted to the Joint Special Liquidators of IBRC which has resulted in an interim dividend of €280m and I am aware that other State entities have also submitted claims.”
The IRBC was formed from Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society in 2011 by a court-mandated merger. The liquidators of the IBRC announced that they intended to make a interim payment to unsecured creditors in May 2016, including the state which would receive about €275m, according to Ciaran Hancock writing in the Irish Times. The full claim of the state is over €1bn.
Commenting on the process, Noonan said: ““The sheer scale and complexity of the operation to liquidate IBRC is seen in the three progress update reports which are published on the Department of Finance website. The announcement of the interim dividend highlights that the Joint Special Liquidators, Kieran Wallace and Eamonn Richardson, continue to deliver on the clear message I gave them at the outset of the liquidation which was to deliver the best possible outcome to creditors, and I commend them and their staff on their work to date in achieving this.”
“In May of this year the Joint Special Liquidators announced that it was their expectation that the eventual unsecured creditor dividend will be in the range of 75% – 100% of all eligible claims. However, I understand that this is subject to change depending on future events which are outside their control. I am confident that the Joint Special Liquidators will complete the remaining tasks in the liquidation and continue to work towards my message of delivering the best possible outcome to creditors.”
