UPDATE 1-Ireland to tighten bank directors' loans rules

* Aims to improve transparency of financial company loans

* Director of Corporate Enforcement given extra resources

* Government staff to be re-deployed to boost enforcement

(Adds details, background)

By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN, March 31 (Reuters) - The Irish government has approved proposals for new legislation to improve the transparency of loans made by financial companies to directors, Deputy Prime Minister Mary Coughlan said on Tuesday.

The bill, proposed after a string of scandals surrounding the now nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, will remove provisions that allow banks to avail of a different disclosure regime compared with non-banking companies.

Coughlan, who brought forward the legislation, added that the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement would receive additional employees, with staff re-deployed from her own and other government departments.

"The provisions of this bill, combined with the increased resources to the Director of Corporate Enforcement, demonstrate this government's commitment to ensuring that Irish companies operate to the highest standards," Coughlan said in a statement.

She said the annual accounts of financial companies would be required to disclose loans made to specific directors, rather than in aggregate form as applies at present.

Companies will also have to show the maximum amounts of each directors' liability during the year, rather than the outstanding balance at the end of the financial year.

Anglo Irish Bank last year revealed its former chairman had concealed 84 million euros ($111.9 million) in loans by transferring them to another bank ahead of Anglo's financial year end.

The scandal prompted the lender's eventual nationalisation and damaged Ireland's international reputation. A probe by the financial regulator reported earlier this month that loans were not being disclosed accurately because of governance and control failings.

Alongside additional staffing, the bill proposes to strengthen the Director of Corporate Enforcement's access to company records. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Andrew Macdonald) ($1=.7504 Euro)