Wilson tells of problems in resolving PMS crisis
FINANCE Minister Sammy Wilson has revealed some of the problems in getting a bank to take over the troubled Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS).
Mr Wilson was reacting after Presbyterian Moderator the Rt Rev Dr Stafford Carson expressed scepticism about Mr Wilson's optimism about the future of the PMS. The 315m PMS suffered a run in October last year and is now in administration.
Speaking yesterday, Mr Wilson said he had met the moderator three weeks ago to update him on the matter.
FEATURE: Year of misery for PMS savers
The DUP MP said there had been grounds for optimism during that meeting because the Treasury were "now on board" with a plan presented to it in July.
The plan, said Mr Wilson, aimed to get around complex EU rules, Treasury rules and also Treasury fears about treating PMS savers differently to other investors.
"It is a case now of finding a financial institution which is prepared to take on the PMS liabilities," Mr Wilson told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.
"And Treasury officials have been helpful in bringing the case to the banks, but there is still ongoing work because of legal and financial complications."
Asked about sticking points in the process, Mr Wilson said that the PMS has "got to compete" with other attractive investment propositions that banks are looking at now as a result of the break-up of other big banks.
Regarding toxic debt, he said that the PMS assets are "fairly good".
"There are also assets which have been earning money at present and in fact there is a pot of money sitting there at present," he said.
"So it is finding a way of creating a guarantee to enable whoever is going to take over (the PMS) to hold onto those assets for four or five years in order for the property market to bounce back up again.
"It is not that the PMS has got a huge amount of debt that is never, ever going to be recoverable. Simply, we need to buy an amount of time, and that is what we are trying to persuade banks at the moment."
He said that three banks had been "identified" as possible candidates but that all of them are also looking at other investment opportunities.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Presbyterian Church clarified that when Dr Carson spoke of a PMS rescue creating "community confidence", he had been referring to confidence in devolved politics generally - and not linking it to the devolution of policing and justice.
Mr Wilson also yesterday firmly rejected suggestions that the PMS was being linked to current policing and justice negotiations.
The Presbyterian Church spokesman also said that Dr Carson and Mr Wilson had met informally yesterday at Westminster.
A spokeswoman for Mr Wilson told the News Letter yesterday that if a solution to the PMS issue is not found soon, the bigger creditors may lose patience in the administration process.
"The creditors may then apply considerable pressure on the administrator to put options on the way forward for the PMS to an early vote by members," she said.
While there is concern among smaller savers in the PMS that the larger creditors might try to exert pressure, it is believed they cannot actually force the administrator to take a particular course, particularly if it is one that benefits only themselves.
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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