PMS members move closer to repayment of lost savings

Image caption, Thousands of PMS members have been unable to retrieve their savings

Members of the collapsed Presbyterian Mutual Society could be in line for repayments as early as June.

A Β£225m package agreed by the executive will be available for the society's administrator from the 1st of April.

Members will then vote on whether or not to accept the package.

First Minister Peter Robinson said anyone with less than Β£20,000 of savings should get all their money back.

"If the executive did not provide this rescue package these people would have undoubtedly lost all their savings," he added.

The PMS crashed in November 2008, owing almost 10,000 investors money.

ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Northern Ireland business correspondent Kevin Magee said that under the proposals, the PMS investors would be getting some but not all of their money back.

Larger savers will be asked to defer some of the money they are due to get back for 10 years.

The Β£175m loan from the Treasury, which has to be paid back, will be available from the start of the new financial year.

Also available will be another Β£50m; Β£25m of this figure is a loan from the Northern Ireland Executive.

The administrator says he hopes the money will be returned in June.

According to the Department of Finance and Personnel, there is no guarantee the investors will get a 100% return as the scheme depends on the recovery of the PMS assets in the long term.