Irish government gives green light to AIB share sale

Ireland's finance minister Michael Noonan has signed off on the government's sale of 25% of its stake in Allied Irish Banks.

One of the largest banks in the country, AIB was nationalised at the peak of the financial crisis which brought the Celtic Tiger years crashing to the ground. The Irish state pumped over €20bn into the bank in order to keep it afloat.

The shares will be floated on the London Stock Exchange as well as in the Irish stock market, potentially raising up to €3bn for the state.

Noonan said on Wednesday that AIB had already paid more than €6bn in the form of fees and dividends to the government.

The shares will be floated on the London Stock Exchange as well as in the Irish stock market

"The Government's long-held policy is that the State should exit its banking investments in a measured and prudent manner, returning ownership to the private sector over time," Noonan said.

"The strong progress made by AIB and current market conditions mean that now is the right time to commence this process and proceed with an initial sale of approximately 25% of the State’s shareholding in AIB."

AIB returned to profit for the first time in six years in 2014 and now its chief executive Bernard Byrne says the bank is a step closer to returning the taxpayers’ funds it was given in the bailout.

"While significant capital has been returned to date, this share listing and sale is very important as it puts in place the final mechanism that will enable the State to continue to recover its investment," Byrne said in a statement.