Subprime mortgages written by failed and closed lenders are being offered to distressed debt investors for as little as 30c in the euro as financial backers who got burned by the credit crunch try to exit the market with at least some of their investment intact.

Several specialist lenders which have withdrawn their products from the Irish market are trying to sell nearly €500m in loans, but the sellers cannot offload the assets even at steep discounts, according to those who have been approached.

One loan book – €20m in subprime loans from Fresh Mortgages, a short-lived lender which closed for new business in late 2007 – has been on the market since November of last year with no takers.

According to industry sources, Fresh founder David Ryan has been trying to drum up €4m in private investor interest and €4m in debt financing to secure the book from Credit Suisse, which provided – and ultimately withdrew – the lender's €1bn line of credit in 2007. However, it is understood he has been unsuccessful on both scores.

Credit Suisse, which came late to Ireland's property bubble, is selling its entire European mortgage business as a whole but reportedly wants a quick exit from the Irish market and is willing to drop the price to 30c in the euro or "possibly south of that", according to one source.

"They're big, the book is small, they made a big mistake getting in and want to get out," said the source. "But nobody is rushing in to buy this kind of stuff."

One industry source, who was approached to manage the book once it was acquired, suggested the new owners would only have to collect 50% of the face value of the mortgages to make a profit at the prices being offered, but there was still little interest.

Belgian bank KBC is also understood to be shopping its subprime portfolio, left over from when it closed its specialist lender Stepstone, a joint venture with now-defunct investment bank Lehman Brothers. Stepstone closed for new business in March 2008.

Meanwhile, GE Money is reportedly trying to sell €400m in unsecured personal loans – a sign that the troubled finance arm of the US corporate giant sees little future in Ireland.

GE has already cut back or withdrawn from subprime lending, credit cards and motor finance.

The personal book is said to be on the market for between 8c and 10c in the euro.