PERMANENT TSB BANK is up for sale - giving the State an opportunity to remove its last share in an Irish bank 17 years after it bailed out banks during the financial crash.

The Government sold its last shares in Bank of Ireland in 2022, and in AIB during the summer, making PTSB the last major state-owned bank.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, who is the majority shareholder of Permanent TSB holding over 57% of shares, has welcomed the decision.

In a statement today he said the government believes that it is in the long-term interests of PTSB and citizens in general that the Bank be returned to full private ownership.

A Formal Sale Process for the bank was launched today to find a long-term owner of the bank.

The bank said they have decided now is the right time to seek a new owner as it has returned to profitability and seen an increase in appetite for its shares from international investors.

In a statement today it said: “The Board of PTSB, with the support of its largest shareholder, the Minister for Finance, has concluded that now is the right time to seek a new owner to support the next phase of the Bank’s growth and strategic development”.

The Department of Finance has appointed Rothschild & Co and William Fry as financial and legal adviser, while the bank has appointed Goldman Sachs International as financial adviser.

The Minister for Finance said: “PTSB has made great progress in building a strong competitive franchise in the Irish retail banking market as evidenced by its Q3 2025 trading update released today.

“With increased investor interest in European banks, this presents the State with the opportunity to exit its last remaining shareholding in an Irish bank after 17 years.”

He said the State’s investment in PTSB was made during the financial crisis to “safeguard the stability of the banking system and protect depositors”.

“A sale of the State’s investment would be consistent with the objective of recovering taxpayer funds that were used to rescue the Irish banks and deploying these to more productive purposes,” he added.