LAST UPDATE | 8 Nov 2022

AIB HAS WELCOMED the announcement by the Department of Finance to sell 8% of its stake in the bank.

In a statement this morning, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said that the State’s shareholding in AIB has been reduced from 62% to 57%.

Colin Hunt, AIB Group plc Chief Executive said this morning: “We very much welcome the decision and subsequent transaction undertaken by the Minister for Finance.

“It is another important development in the process of returning the State’s investment in the Group and a normalisation of the share register. AIB owes the Irish taxpayer an immense debt of gratitude for its support during the financial crisis.

“We remain focused on our strategy to grow and strengthen the Group to ensure we continue generating sustainable returns for all our shareholders.”

The state initially built up the shareholding in AIB after rescuing the bank following the 2008 financial crisis.

Donohoe announced the planned sell off last night, with 134 million shares being sold earlier this morning

A total of €396.6 million was generated by the sale, with each share being sold for €2.96.

“The State has made good progress this year in reducing its shareholding in AIB from 71.1% at the beginning of the year to 57% today,” Donohoe said in a statement this morning.

“As I have previously stated, this Government believes that banking is an activity that should in the main be provided by the private sector and that taxpayer funds which were used to rescue the banks should be recovered and used for more productive purposes.”

Donohoe also said that any further stake in the company will not be sold for at least 90 days following this sale, without prior written consent by the joint bookrunners.

Following this, Donohoe says that the Government will continue to assess “additional opportunities” to sell off more of its stake in AIB.

The sale of Bank of Ireland shares was officially completed in September, with €6.7 billion in cash being recovered from the Government’s €4.7 billion investment and support for the lender between 2009 and 2011.