Private equity holders ‘still interested’ in bank sector

BANKING analyst Ken Darmody yesterday welcomed the fact that private equity holders were still interested in getting involved in the Irish banking sector.

The Goodbody Stockbrokers analyst was responding to a Dublin newspaper report yesterday that Cardinal Capital Group has been in touch with the Government about a possible buy-out of EBS building society.

“It’s an obvious positive for the country that private capital remains interested in the Irish banking sector”, despite the higher capital levels being imposed by the regulator to ensure the banks are adequately capitalised to deal with any future crisis, he said.