Denise Lowe’s debt-for-equity proposal could not be approved without bank consent

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A court held that there was no basis to approve Denise Lowe’s proposed personal insolvency arrangement because Bank of Ireland did not consent to its debt-for-equity proposal.

The proposed arrangement involved her principal private residence, valued at €300,000. The amount owed to the bank on the mortgage exceeded that value, putting the property in negative equity.

The proposal divided the property’s value into €170,000 to be repaid through regular instalments of principal and interest, and a €130,000 debt-for-equity swap under which the bank would receive a 43.3% share in the property.

The court held that the insolvency legislation did not authorise a reduction of the principal sum below the market value of the secured property without the secured creditor’s consent. Bank of Ireland did not consent, so the court held that it could not order the arrangement to come into effect.