Across the euro area as a whole banks have relaxed lending standards for the first time since the second quarter of 2007, though the effects have yet to feed through to Irish lenders.

Banks here did not loosen credit standards in the period from the start of April to the end of June, but did see increasing demand for mortgages, 
consumer loans and business loans.

Argentina is expected to default on its debt within hours after talks with holdout creditors broke down.

As the clock ticked toward a midnight deadline, Economy Minister Axel Kicillof stuck firmly to the government line, repeatedly denigrating the holdouts as “vultures” after two days of intense negotiations.

Argentina looks set to default on its debts for a second time in less than 13 years as efforts to end an impasse with creditors suing the country before a crucial interest payment deadline appeared to be coming up short.

In an attempt to find a last-minute solution to the crisis, Argentinian officials met with a US court-appointed mediator on Tuesday but they refused face-to-face negotiations with the so-called “holdouts”, …

The Government will belatedly introduce rules to force disclosure of shares held through contracts for difference (CFDs) next year – five years later than first planned.

In October 2010, the Department of Finance said it would bring forward rules on the reporting of CFD positions within weeks, in the wake of the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank, where businessman Sean Quinn had secretly built up a 29pc stake using the …

The bank said its results represented a €1.3bn improvement in performance compared with the first half of last year with funding and capital positions stable and improving.

The bank last reported a full-year profit in 2008 as the financial crisis was hitting.

The expected move to profit marks a milestone as it moves towards repaying a state bailout next year- the €20bn cost to the taxpayer was the most given …