Tiernan O'Mahoney

International Securities Trading Corporation (ISTC), which was founded by former Anglo Irish Bank COO Tiernan O'Mahoney, said today it had postponed its results and suspended grey market trading of its shares as it assesses the impact of the credit crisis.

The Dublin-based lender to financial institutions, which also cancelled a convertible bond issue, said it expected to take a one-off charge of at least �70 million ($103 million) as it revalues $305 million worth of capital notes.

Last month, ISTC announced the issue of a €150 million, 5 year convertible subordinated bond issue, convertible into ISTC ordinary shares at an equivalent  price of €110 per share. The issue was in principle fully underwritten by Sevenca Limited, an entity which is controlled by Dermot Desmond.

The bond had effectively valued ISTC's stock at less than half the €200 level at which it was changing hands before the issuance was announced last month

It is understood that ISTC's shareholders include Ireland's richest men.

At the start of this year, ISTC shares reached an all-time high of €345, trading in a grey market operated by Goodbody Stockbrokers -- almost three-and-a-half times what they originally cost two years ago when the group raised €165m to establish itself.

Deutsche Bank analyst says subprime losses could reach $400 billion worldwide

Losses arising from falling values of subprime mortgage assets may reach $300 billion to $400 billion worldwide, a Deutsche Bank said in research published today.

Banks and brokers will be forced to write down as much as $130 billion because of the plunge in subprime-related debt, based on a ``seat-of-the-pants'' estimate the firms will account for a third of total mark downs, Mike Mayo, a New York-based analyst says in a research report. Banks may have to write off $60 billion to $70 billion this year, he wrote.

The world's biggest financial firms including Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co. have written down more than $40 billion of assets as mortgage-related bond prices slump on record US foreclosures. About $1.2 trillion of the $10 trillion of outstanding US mortgages are considered to be subprime, Mayo said in the note.

Deutsche Bank expects 30% to 40% of subprime debt to default. Losses on loans to people with poor credit histories may be as much as half the sum lent, Mayo said.

The estimate for banks' and brokers' losses in 2007 is based on known charges of $43 billion and expected additional losses of $25 billion, Mayo said in the note.

Loss rates on about $200 billion of securities based on derivatives linked to subprime debt will run as high as 80% according to the note.