Shareholders approve BoI plan to raise €3.4bn

SHAREHOLDERS have unanimously backed Bank of Ireland’s multi-faceted €3.42 billion capital raising plan, despite a modicum of dissent at the extraordinary general meeting held yesterday to ratify the initiative.

Details of the plan, aimed at strengthening BoI’s post-NAMA balance sheet and meeting the end-of-year fundraising target of €2.7bn imposed by the Financial Regulator, were announced at the end of last month.

It features a share placing for institutional investors, a debt-for-equity swap with existing bondholders and a €1.9bn rights issue aimed at ordinary shareholders. The bank also intends to sell off subsidiary companies.