Creditors and shareholders of the troubled Presbyterian Mutual Society (PMS) have voted to accept a scheme which will trigger more than £232m in repayments.
The proposed Scheme of Arrangement for the body promoted by the Presbyterian Church in Ireland has still to be sanctioned formally by the court, but the administrator, Arthur Boyd, hopes that the repayments can begin in July.
The administrator revealed that more than 99% of the members and creditors who voted were in favour of the scheme.
Arthur Boyd also said that the appeal by the Presbyterian Church for individuals and congregations to voluntarily defer some money due to them had met with a strong response. The Church, in effect, had asked the larger savers to help those with much less in the PMS.
A third of creditors who voted agreed to defer funds, meaning that shareholders with less than £20,000 in the PMS can receive all their money back.
The PMS was placed in administration in November 2008.