Ireland is nearing the end of its divestment of shares in AIB, the country's largest bank. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe announced the recent sale of a 5% stake, raising €652 million and reducing the state's ownership to 12.5%. This marks a significant step towards fully exiting AIB, a goal the government hopes to achieve by year's end if market conditions are favorable. The Irish state previously intervened heavily in the banking sector during the 2008 financial crisis, injecting €64 billion into banks to stave off collapse. Since then, it has been gradually selling off its stake in various banks, including Bank of Ireland, which returned to full private ownership in 2022. The total proceeds from the sale of AIB shares so far have reached approximately €17.9 billion, returning a substantial portion of the state's investment.
Ireland is on track to sell all shares in AIB by the end of the year, according to the finance minister. The Irish State recently sold a 5 percent stake in AIB , which will generate around €652 million and reduce its ownership to 12.5 percent. This is the latest move in a series of efforts to decrease the state's involvement in the banking sector following the multi-billion euro rescue plan implemented for banks during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The then-Irish government injected €64 billion into Irish banks during the property crash. This marks the sixth round of AIB shares owned by the Irish State to be sold, bringing the total return to approximately €17.9 billion. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe stated that each accelerated bookbuild transaction has achieved 'incremental improvements' on the placing price for Ireland while also tightening the discount. 'This latest transaction achieved a price which was 14 percent higher than what was achieved in the previous transaction last June,' he said in a statement. 'Once again, this transaction was well received, with significant demand from a large number of high-quality international institutional investors.' He added: 'We have made significant progress in reducing the state’s shareholding in AIB from approximately 71 percent at the beginning of 2022 to approximately 12.5 percent today. It is now a realistic target that the state could exit its position in AIB later this year should market conditions allow.' The state previously sold its remaining shares in Bank of Ireland in September 2022, making it the first bank to return to full private ownership since the crash. AIB Group chief executive officer Colin Hunt welcomed the move and said it was 'another important milestone' in returning the state’s investment. 'It will return a further approximately €652 million to Irish taxpayers to whom AIB is deeply grateful for their support during the financial crisis. This brings the total proceeds returned to the state to approximately €18 billion.'
FINANCE BANKING IRELAND AIB GOVERNMENT INVESTMENTS SHARE SALE ECONOMIC RECOVERY
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