FBD Holdings said it has increased its provision for the fallout of the High Court pub business interruption cases ruling to €65m, which includes estimated net claims costs of €54m and €11m assumed reinsurance reinstatement premium. | It said that gross claims costs are currently estimated to be about €150m. The insurer said the effects of the judgement are being considered with its reinsurance partners in order to finalise the reinsurance recovery position. | Dublin listed homebuilder Glenveagh Properties said that just eight weeks into the year, it has already sold, signed or reserved 950 new homes for delivery this year. | This is twice the number (475) that were spoken for at the same time last year. It said it expects to complete a total of 1,150 units this year despite the current restrictions on construction due to Covid-19. For the year to the end of December, Glenveagh Properties said it sold a total of 700 units, down 17% on the 844 units sold in 2019. | The number of mortgages approved in January fell by 16% compared to the previous month, according to figures published by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. | A total of 3,355 mortgages were approved last month, a decline on the December figure, but a 2.8% increase on the same period last year. Approvals for First Time Buyers were down 20% compared to the previous month, but up 7.5% compared to the same month last year. Despite this, the figures show that first-time buyers made up over half of the approvals with 1,709 mortgages approved for this group. Mover purchasers accounted for just over 27%, with 911 mortgages approved.   |||