AIB Group Plc expects the Irish state to reduce its shareholding to single digits by May after receiving regulatory approval for a €1.2 billion buyback, the bank’s chief financial officer said after its annual results statement.
“That proposal will need to be voted on by our shareholders on May 1 at our AGM. And if it were successful, which I expect it will be, and if we were able to transact with the government, that would reduce their shareholding by another 7%, leaving them at 5%,” Donal Galvin said in an interview with Bloomberg.
At that stage, the state would have a number options at their disposal to be able to reduce further at a time and a pace of their choosing, he added.
The ongoing disposal illustrates Ireland’s remarkable post-crash recovery. Having been bailed out by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the small country now boasts one of Europe’s only budget surpluses.
With the state’s shareholding currently at 12.39%, there is a clear path to a return to full private ownership this year, the lender added in its annual results statement Wednesday.
AIB forecast net interest income for 2025 of above €3.6 billion, while the proposed final dividend for 2024 is 36.984 cent per share.
A salary cap on executive renumeration is still in place and the bank has been in talks with the Minister for Finance to remove it. It is a matter for the government, Chief Executive Officer Colin Hunt said on RTE radio.
The lender rose as much as 8% on the Dublin stock exchange Wednesday, the most in almost two years.
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