Bank of America linked to purchase of €2bn IBRC loan portfolio

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is being linked to the buying of a €2bn portfolio of loans from Irish Bank Resolution Corporation — the former Anglo Irish Bank.

The US bank has bought at least €7.3bn of loans since late 2011. It has held on to some of the assets in a strategic move to deepen client relationships and sold the remaining loans at a profit to end investors.

The bank has been on a buying spree to deploy over $100bn (€77.3bn) of surplus capital that it has raised since Lehman Brothers collapsed in Sept 2008 and has profited from European banks’ need to sell large portfolios quickly.