Honohan 'to ask for delay on promissory note payment'
Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan will 'probably' ask for permission tomorrow to effectively delay the payment of €3.1bn of Ireland's bank debt, it has been reported.
The Government is due to make the payment at the end of the month on the promissory note to the former Anglo Irish Bank, which is supposed to use the funds to reduce its borrowings from the Central Bank.
News agency Bloomberg however this evening reported that Governor Honohan will ask the European Central Bank for permission to effectively delay the transaction, until talks with the ECB about getting a better deal on the Government's bank debt are complete.
According to the report, which cites sources close to the matter, Anglo - now renamed the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) - would under the proposal use the €3.1bn to buy government bonds instead of paying down Central Bank debt.
This would mean no net cash outflow from the State, Bloomberg said, while at the same time honouring the commitment to pay out to IBRC.
Officials from the Central Bank, ECB and Department of Finance declined to comment, according to Bloomberg.
