Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 October 2012
168. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance in respect of Bank of Ireland in which he controls 15% of the ordinary shares and in addition holds preference shares valued at €1,473 million in December 2011; the reason the bank is seeking via an application to the High Court to reduce its share premium account by €3.92bn to €1.97bn. [45979/12]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware the transfer of reserves from the share premium account to distributable reserves is a normal transfer allowable under company law. Indeed, this exercise was completed by Allied Irish Bank earlier this year. At the EGM of 15 June 2011, a resolution was passed by 99.57% of the shareholders of the Bank of Ireland authorising this transfer. The reserve generated will enable the Bank to have sufficient distributable reserves to, amongst other things, make distributions and pay dividends to its Stockholders going forward (where permissible in law to so do), including helping to facilitate the payment of the dividend on the State’s Preference Stock units in 2013.
