Bank of Ireland will not tap shareholders again in 2009
BANK of Ireland is unlikely to tap shareholders for cash to shore up its finances this year due partly to problems in setting up Ireland’s new “bad bank”, it emerged yesterday.
Delays in passing laws to create the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) mean Bank of Ireland is not expected to launch a rights issue before the first quarter of 2010 at the earliest, an Irish newspaper cited senior sources at the bank as saying.
The legislation was due to be in place next month, enabling Bank of Ireland to announce a rights issue together with its interim results on 4 November or at least before the end of this year.
The bank is under pressure from the Irish government to find new private capital to avoid the need for more state aid to help it weather the impact of the credit crunch.
It has already received €3.5bn (£3.2bn) of capital from the government, giving the finance ministry an indirect 25 per cent stake.
A bank spokeswoman declined to comment yesterday.
Bank of Ireland and rival Allied Irish Banks are expected to shift a total of €40bn of risky property loans to the NAMA.