Australian firm set to hang on to NIB for now

NATIONAL Irish Bank (NIB) may not be sold immediately by its Australian parent company.

National Australia Bank (NAB), owner of NIB and Northern Bank in Ireland, has appointed investment banker Lazard to review its options and no final decision will be taken until then. The report is due to be competed before November.

NAB has other more immediate pressures to worry about such as the collapse of its share price over the last 12 months. Analysts say the sell-off of NIB or its British regional bank is not going to resolve that immediate difficulty.