AIB, Bank of Ireland plan internal splits-report
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DUBLIN, March 7 | Mon Mar 7, 2011 4:13am EST
DUBLIN, March 7 (Reuters) - Allied Irish Banks (ALBK.I) and Bank of Ireland (BKIR.I) have submitted plans to the central bank that would see their assets separated into core and non-core operations, the Irish Independent newspaper said on Monday.
Ireland has pledged to restructure and shrink its banking sector under an EU/IMF bailout deal to end the lenders' dependence on emergency funding from the European Central Bank and its own central bank.
Citing banking sources, the Irish Independent said there was no clarity on how the splits would be achieved or whether a new finance minister would request a change in strategy.
"We've submitted plans but talks are ongoing: absolutely nothing is set in stone yet," one source was quoted as saying.
A spokeswoman for AIB declined to comment. No one from Bank of Ireland was immediately available to comment.
The central bank is currently reviewing the sector as it conducts fresh tests on the lenders' capital and liquidity levels.
A new coalition government made up of the centre-right Fine Gael party and the centre-left Labour party will meet for the first time on Wednesday.
A source told Reuters on Sunday that Fine Gael's finance spokesman Michael Noonan would be appointed finance minister. [ID:nLDE72507J]
Fine Gael want Europe and the IMF to give Ireland's banks more time to offload non-core assets to avoid a fire-sale that would trigger more losses.
The new government has postponed injecting around 8 billion euros into AIB, Bank of Ireland and the EBS Building Society [EBSBS.UL] until after the stress tests are completed.
Ireland has already poured some 46 billion euros into its banks, whose reckless lending fuelled a property bubble that has brought the economy to its knees.
In an interview in January, the central bank governor Patrick Honohan told Reuters that Irish banks' capital requirements may rise once the stress tests are completed at the end of this month. [ID:nSLAPCE7NH]
(Reporting by Carmel Crimmins; editing by Sophie Walker)
