IL&P may need €1bn in state aid

IRISH Life & Permanent may need an injection of up to €1 billion in state funding once details of the stress tests are announced tomorrow.

Reports of the proposed stake sent the group’s shares plunging in Dublin yesterday and raises the prospect of a merger between IL&P’s banking arm and EBS Building Society.

Until yesterday’s shock revelation it was expected that EBS was likely to be taken over by the Irish backed Cardinal Group in conjunction with US billionaire Wilbur Ross.