Bank of Ireland set to return to private hands after financial crash bailout

The government of Ireland recently had to request a €67.5bn bailout from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

The most recent bailout is almost the same as another bailout of €64bn which the country got from 2009 to 2011 to help six key institutions get through an existential financial strait. The beneficiaries included Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Anglo Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland, EBS, Irish Life & Permanent, and Irish Nationwide Building Society.

This bailout process saw the Irish government controlling a majority stake in most of the nation’s banking institutions.

However, that trend is on the path to reversal as Dublin embarks on what it refers to as a “phased exit” from the Bank of Ireland. This move is easier with this particular lender because it managed to avoid surrendering majority stake to the state during the bailout process.

Paschal Donohoe, Ireland’s minister for finance, has announced that some portions of the state’s 13.9% stake in the Bank of Ireland, valued at €700m, would be sold over six months.