Ronan Smyth: PTSB sale closes the final chapter of Ireland’s banking crisis

Acquisition of PTSB by Austrian bank BAWAG for just over €1.6bn means the Government will finally be washing its hands of the bank bailouts after nearly two decades

The State is about €1.3bn above break-even on its €29.4bn investment in AIB, Bank of Ireland, and PTSB.

When PTSB put itself up for sale in October last year, it finally signalled an end to one of the last remnants of the financial crisis, with the Government approving a move which would ultimately see it exit its majority shareholding position in the bank. 

However, the banking sector in this country has changed remarkably in that time but the three remaining pillar banks have not always kept pace.