Lenihan says move gives institution a ‘strong future’

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has warmly welcomed Bank of Ireland’s fundraising plan, saying that the institution now has “a strong future as a well-capitalised and cleaned-up bank.”

The announcement that Bank of Ireland is to raise €3.4bn in fresh post-NAMA capital — comfortably covering its €2.7bn end-of-year capital requirement, set out by the Financial Regulator — entirely from private investors — also shows how positively Ireland is now viewed by the domestic and international investment communities, according to the Department of Finance.

Mr Lenihan hailed the move as being “good news for our economy, good news for the taxpayer and good news for Bank of Ireland’s shareholders and investors.