A round-up of other stories in brief.
Further delays on INBS windfalls
Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) members will have to wait another nine months at least for their windfalls, as its chief executive Michael Fingleton has ruled out an imminent sale of the building society.
Members voted in favour of the demutualisation of the society last May and legislation introduced last summer has paved the way for a sale of INBS and a windfall payout for members. It is estimated that about 125,000 members can expect windfalls of €15,000.
Mr Fingleton said on Wednesday at the announcement of the 2006 operating results that INBS had received expressions of interest from potential buyers, but that it would not rush into a sale.
2007 SSIA holders go for big spend
Special savings incentive account (SSIA) holders who took out their accounts at the last minute are more likely to spend their cash and less likely to save than those who opened an SSIA when they were first available, according to research by IIB Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
IIB Bank chief economist Austin Hughes said "the class of 2007" - people whose SSIAs mature this year - were less wary of spending their money than "the class of 2006", who were more seasoned savers and were alert to the value of the Government's bonus offer of €1 for every €4 saved.
Easter sale on travel insurance
Insureme.ie, an online insurance broker, is holding a sale on travel insurance for the Easter season, offering annual cover to families from €58, excluding winter sports cover, and from €89, including winter sports cover. The sale prices are available to people who hold private health insurance and are under 68.
Insureme.ie sells travel policies offered by Blue Insurances, which also sells travel insurance through travel agents and various other brokers.
New savings products website
A new website providing impartial comparisons of saving products was launched this week by a computer science student from University College Cork.
Kristian Johansson set up sparu.com, which gives detailed information on the highest paying regular saving accounts, as a final- year computer science project.
Sparu.com contains listings for 44 savings products but will develop to cover other areas such as banking, borrowing and investing.
