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Bank of Ireland was founded in 1783 and the premises at College Green, Dublin, of the Irish Parliament, which became defunct on the Act of Union coming in to effect in 1801, were purchased for £40,000 in 1803.
Update: The Government has sold €1bn worth of Bank of Ireland loan
notes to private investors.
The sale generated bids totalling €4.8bn and the notes were sold at a small
premium, netting the State a profit of €10m.
In a statement, Michael Noonan, finance minister, said the move represents a
vote of confidence by international investors in Ireland's recovery and the
Government's banking policies.
The minister had earlier welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations which saw the Irish
Government dispose of all of its €1bn holding of Contingent
Capital Notes (CCN’s) in Bank of Ireland.
The minister said: “I am delighted to announce this latest transaction which
represents another vote of confidence by international investors in Ireland’s
recovery and the government’s banking policies in particular. Since making this
€1bn investment in Bank of Ireland in July 2011 the Irish taxpayer has received
a generous return of 10% per annum on its money.”
This transaction follows an initial approach by investment banks to the
Department late last year which indicated that there was sizeable investor
interest in the State’s CCN or 'Coco' instruments and particularly the holding
in Bank of Ireland. These Contingent Capital instruments are debt securities
which convert into equity in the bank on the occurrence of certain stress events
or if the bank’s capital falls below a set ratio.
The State’s investment in
these instruments dates back to the 2011 PCAR exercise (stress tests), and the
Department of Finance says the successful exit from a large portion of this
position represents another step along the road to normalising the State’s
relationship with the banking sector and reflects positively on the progress
being made in returning our banks to a position of strength.
Davy, Deutsche Bank and UBS managed the sale
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