Irish Life & Permanent succumbs to state control

THE Government will own more than 99% of Irish Life & Permanent Plc, the country’s third-biggest lender, after providing a €3.4 billion bailout.

The company will delist its shares from the London and Irish stock exchanges in August and will transfer them to the Irish Stock Exchange’s junior Enterprise Securities Market, the lender said in a statement yesterday.

The decision makes Irish Life the fifth of the country’s six biggest lenders to succumb to state control after racking up record losses in the collapse of the real estate market.