Mick Wallace
Question:17. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide details on plans for the sale of AIB to the private sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45992/14]
View answerWednesday, 3 December 2014
Questions (17)
Written answers
Now that the bank has returned to profit, is on a stable path and has passed the ECB's Comprehensive Assessment, my officials will engage with the management team to explore how we can reconfigure the bank's capital structure to make it fit for purpose. Regulatory rules and expectations have changed dramatically in the past couple of years and we need to lay out a plan to position the bank for this new environment. As part of this process we hope to agree a roadmap that will see the bank start to return cash to the State so we begin the process of repaying the taxpayers large investment.
With respect to the State's shareholdings or ownership in the banks, Government policy remains unchanged that we do not wish to hold these investments in the banks over the long term. Subject to market conditions therefore we are willing to exit in a manner that maximises value for the taxpayer.
In the last 18 months the State has exited successfully from some debt investments with the sale of our "Cocos" and Preference Shares in Bank of Ireland in addition to the sale of Irish Life. Given the significant cash resources we hold, we are not under any immediate pressure to exit our remaining investments however given where our national debt is, neither do we have the luxury of holding on indefinitely.
We are not making any decisions around reducing our ownership in the bank now, as we have important decisions to make around how we should best reconfigure our existing investments in a way that benefits both the bank and the taxpayer. That's our main priority in the coming months. If we can deliver on this work programme next year and everything else develops as we would like, including the bank's performance and market conditions, then we may be at the point where we can consider selling some of our shares.