AIB sale stalled by poll impasse

The State valued Allied Irish Banks at €11.7bn at the end of last year, but any decision about scrapping or going ahead with an initial sale of shares in the bank is likely to be frozen for many months in the absence of a new government.

Just weeks before the election campaign, Finance Minister Michael Noonan had pledged to start the sale process for an initial sale of 25% of AIB as soon as the former coalition returned to power.

However, that was before the full onset of the global stock market slide had become clear. European bank shares were hit hard, placing big question marks over the wisdom of selling down AIB shares.