NATIONALISED LENDER Anglo Irish Bank has received approval from a group of its subordinated bondholders to buy back their bonds in the bank – at an 80% discount.

The bank has confirmed that the terms of its ’2016 Notes Purchase Resolution’ were passed at the London meeting this morning, meaning that €500m worth of ten-year bonds in the bank, issued in 2006, will be returned to the bank.

In return, the London Stock Exchange said, hondholders will instead be issued with ‘floating rate notes’ which mature next year – notes which pay a far lower interest rate, and which will cost the bank a mere €100m to honour.

The terms offered, the Financial Times reports, were closely watched across Europe – with the Anglo example being regarded as a template for how other ailing banks might act should the same circumstances arise overseas.

The FT’s Alphaville blog further notes that acceptance of the offer by individual bondholders also counts as a vote in favour of moves that would see the remaining holders given just 1c for each €1,000 in bonds they hold.

A second meeting of the bondholders, which will finalise the outright passage of the deal, will now be held on December 22.