AIB to sell stake in US bank

Allied Irish Bank is to sell its 22% stake in the New York based M&T Bank Corporation, through a public share offering.

The stake in the US bank is currently valued at over €2bn but the sale at a discount is expected to raise around €750m in capital.

AIB has to raise over €10bn by the end of the year to meet new capital reserve limits set by the Financial Regulator.

The disposal is subject to AIB shareholder approval, and is taking the form of a public offering in the US of 26,700,000 contingent mandatorily exchangeable notes exchangeable for the shares of common stock of M&T currently owned by AIB, the company said in a statement.

AIB recently sold its Polish banking interests to Spain's Santander for €2.5bn.

Meanwhile in a separate announcement last night the bank said two board members - Robert G. Wilmers and Kieran Crowley - were to resign.