Foreign investors give major boost to bank

BANK OF IRELAND received a major vote of confidence yesterday as international investors snapped up its latest €2 billion fundraising exercise.

The bank's second Asset Covered Security (ACS) issue, which will be used to fund its lending activities, was heavily oversubscribed after stronger-than-expected interest from central banks, pension funds and investment managers across Europe and Asia.

Yesterday's issue was sold out within hours of going on the market, with total orders in the region of €4 billion double the level sought by the bank. The bank enjoyed similar success last year when it was swamped with demand for its initial attempt to raise funds using the ACS route, which was the first by an Irish institution. It plans to raise a further €6 billion over the next three years. ACSs have become popular with banks throughout Europe as they look for cheap access to funds to support growing loan books.