I can confirm for the Deputy that I did not express any concerns regarding the sale of the Bank of Ireland's UK Commercial portfolio to the company highlighted nor were any complaints made directly to me on the matter. I am not aware of officials in either the Department or the NTMA raising any such concerns.
In late September 2011, an official in my Department was made aware that a verbal complaint had been made by a private equity firm to the Department of an Taoiseach that the sale process was not a open one. This complaint was then raised by a senior official in the Department of Finance with an executive of the bank who provided reassurance that the sale process was robust.
Bank of Ireland is a privately owned company in which the State maintains a minority shareholding. The completion of its deleveraging programme was a responsibility of the board and management of the bank though the State as shareholder took an active interest in ensuring that the required disposals were successfully executed in a manner that protected shareholder capital.
