Taxpayer no longer the largest shareholder in Bank of Ireland

The reduction is as part of an unwinding of the state’s position in BOI

Francesca McDonagh, the chief executive at Bank of Ireland, said that in just over six months, the state holding in Bank of Ireland has halved. Picture: Fergal Phillips

The Irish taxpayer is no longer the largest shareholder in Bank of Ireland after the state cut its crisis-era position in the lender further over recent days.

In a stock market update released this afternoon, Bank of Ireland confirmed that the Irish state’s shareholding had fallen from 7.97 per cent to 6.93 per cent .

The reduction, as part of an unwinding of the state’s position in Bank of Ireland announced last year, means Irish ...