Banks in moves to raise capital

BANK of Ireland announced a disposal yesterday and BNP Paribas was said to be looking to sell a package of assets, as Europe’s banks step up plans to raise funds to help meet tougher capital rules.

Bank of Ireland said it was selling project finance loans to Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui for €470 million, a discount of 16%, as it seeks to shrink itself under an EU-IMF bailout.

BNP is considering selling a private-equity portfolio, a source said. This could be worth more than $700m, according to the Financial Times.