The state has reduced its shareholding in Bank of Ireland to zero, thirteen years after bailing out the bank following Ireland's property crash.
Proceeds generated from the latest selling down the state's stake in the bank, managed by Citigroup Global Capital Markets, amount to €840m.
Finance minister Paschal Donohue (pictured) said the state has garnered c.€6.7bn in cash from its €4.7bn Bank of Ireland bailout over the 2009-2011 period. This includes dividends and various levies.
Shares were sold through phase three of the trading plan at an average price of €6.17 per share, up from an average of €5.64 in phase two and €4.96 in phase one.
The minister said: “When I announced the launch of the share trading plan in June 2021, I commented that banking is an activity that involves taking credit risk and therefore should be provided by the private sector. It follows that taxpayer funds which were used to rescue the Irish banks should be recovered and used for more productive purposes.
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“The gradual disposal of the state’s investment in Bank of Ireland into a rising market has been successful in delivering on this objective for our citizens.
“We have also made great progress in relation to our investments in PTSB and AIB, which collectively are still worth more than €4.9bn, notwithstanding various disposals this year.
"Our stake in PTSB is expected to reduce from 75% to approximately 62% later this year when the bank issues new shares in part exchange for the Ulster business it has agreed to purchase from NatWest Group Plc.
“Meanwhile at AIB, which is by far the state’s largest remaining investment, our stake has reduced from 71.2% to 63.5%.”
BoI group chief executive Gavin Kelly stated: “Bank of Ireland should never have needed support from the taxpayer. We will always be grateful for the help we received.
“This is a milestone moment for Bank of Ireland as we move conclusively beyond the financial crisis, and is a very important step towards full normalisation of our relationship with the state.”
