STATE-owned AIB has proposed a new payment structure for its non-executive directors which will see their basic yearly fee more than double, but other payments cut.

Fees for duties like attending meetings, serving as a committee chair or on the board of a subsidiary company are all being reduced.

The bank said the new structure, to be signed off by shareholders, would see the total amount paid to the executives …

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised concerns that the Central Bank of Ireland is not independent enough.

The Washington-based fund said it had concerns that an official from the Department of Finance sits on the Central Bank Commission.

OVER one fifth of Irish small businesses have had to sack or warn staff over their social media behaviour on the likes of Facebook and Twitter over the past year.

And 44pc of bosses are now checking these platforms before recruiting staff, the results of a new survey of SMEs and business owners from Bord Gais/Mindshare showed today.

One quarter of business owners check social media over breakfast, a further …

Overnight comments from the European Central Bank chief heightened expectations of easing steps in the euro zone as Asian stocks erased early modest gains and the euro steadied.

“Short covering has been continuing since last week’s strong China PMI data and U.S. housing data,” said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. “The main buyers are short-term investors like derivatives players and hedge funds.”

THE National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has reported a profit after impairment, tax and dividends of €211m for 2013, its fourth year in operation.

The impairment charge for the year was €914m, up from €518 the previous year, following a review of impairment provisioning.

Cash generated was €4.5bn including asset disposals by debtors and receivers and rental income.