Ireland haircut plan challenged
THE Irish high court will today open its hearing of a case brought forward by Allied Irish Bank’s (AIB) bondholders, Aurelius Capital Management and Abadi, challenging finance minister Michael Noonan’s plans to impose haircuts on them.
Dublin is aiming to cut around €5bn (£4.3bn) from a €70bn bill for bailing out its banking sector by imposing losses of up to 90 per cent on junior bondholders. But bondholders have argued that the move is illegal.
A decision in favour of the bondholders could disrupt the government’s burden-sharing plan.