ECB interest rate hikes are positive for Irish banks - Dept of Finance

Documents show the rate hikes meant the timing was right for the state to sell more of its share in AIB

The update said the state’s stake in AIB was now down to 57% and that gross proceeds from the sale had been €396.6m.

INTEREST rate hikes by the European Central Bank had been “positive for Irish banks” and meant the timing was right for the State to sell more of its share in AIB, according to Department of Finance documents.

In submissions to Minister Paschal Donohoe, department officials said investor appetite for AIB had increased “notwithstanding lingering concerns” of a recession coming in Europe.