Irish Nationwide flotation now on the cards but controversy remains

AS Standard Life debuted on the London stock market yesterday the prospects of an Irish Nationwide Building Society (INBS) flotation in Dublin moved a step closer.

It follows the passing of legislation in the Dáil that allows one of the few remaining mutual institutions in the Irish financial services sector to be sold to a private buyer or floated as a publicly quoted company.

Dissident shareholders have warned that any sell-off cannot be done at the expense of members of Irish Nationwide who have allegedly been overcharged by the building society.