Ireland receives 15.7% stake in lender
By Shawn Pogatchnik |
February 23, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Irish government reluctantly received a 15.7 percent stake yesterday in Bank of Ireland Plc after the European Union blocked its original plan to receive a 250 million euro (US$340 million) cash dividend from the government-supported bank.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the government had no choice but to take about 185 million newly issued ordinary shares under terms of its 2009 bailout of Ireland's second-largest bank. The move diluted the value of existing shares, and plans are in the pipeline for cash-strapped Bank of Ireland to issue more stock in coming months.
European Union regulators have yet to approve the Irish government's plan to receive annual cash dividends from both Bank of Ireland and the country's largest bank, Allied Irish Banks Plc.
The government's 2009 deal with both debt-crippled banks involved providing 3.5 billion euros in cash to both banks in exchange for a 25 percent "preference" stake in each bank and annual cash dividends equal to 8 percent of the investment, or 280 million euros annually from both banks.
Under terms of that plan, the government would have received 250 million euros yesterday from Bank of Ireland. The final 30 million euros was not to be paid because a full year has not elapsed since the March 2009 bailout.
Lenihan said he remained optimistic that EU regulators would approve the cash-dividends element of its bailout by May, when the first 280 million euros dividend from Allied Irish Banks is due. Lenihan said the government would have preferred to receive cash yesterday.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
