AIB chief executive Colin Hunt will no doubt be happy with the State's plans to sell more of its shares in the lender. Photograph: Nick BradshawThe State’s divestment of its shareholdings in domestic lenders continued yesterday with NatWest taking a stake in Permanent TSB as part of Ulster Bank’s exit from the market, and the Department of Finance announcing plans to sell another tranche of shares in AIB to reduce taxpayers’ holding to about 57 per cent.
At the beginning of this year, the State held 71 per cent of AIB, roughly 75 per cent of PTSB and a significant stake in Bank of Ireland. The Bank of Ireland shares were sold earlier this year along with a sizeable tranche of AIB stock, reducing our stake to 62 per cent. This latest divestment plan will reduce that holding further and opens up the prospect that at some point next year – some 15 years after the banking crash – the State’s share of AIB could fall below 50 per cent. That would be a significant psychological milestone for the bank.
And with Sinn Féin riding high in the polls and potentially set to be part of the next government, AIB’s chief executive Colin Hunt might be glad that this divestment is continuing apace.
Finance Finance Latest News, Finance Finance Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: IrishTimesBiz - 🏆 6. / 77 Read more »
Source: thejournal_ie - 🏆 32. / 50 Read more »