Banking: AIB’s €21 billion question

With stock markets shuddering across the world, it’s unclear when the first slice of the taxpayers’ 99% stake in Allied Irish Banks will be sold off

Banks across Europe take hit amid fears of a global slowdown: launching an IPO into the current market is a risky gamble

It’s the €21 billion question: when is the right time to sell off the first tranche of taxpayers’ 99 per cent stake in AIB?

Just a couple of months ago, the smart money was on a partial initial public offering (IPO) of AIB shares in May or June. Most analysts who follow Irish banks now expect it to happen later in the year, after the summer. That timetable, of course, is predicated on ...