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Ireland in no rush to sell entire AIB stake - fin min

Reuters - UK Focus

LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) is in no rush to sell the entire stake of state-owned Allied Irish Banks, but the bank should return fully to private hands within the next decade, Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on Wednesday.

"I'd be surprised if it didn't happen in the next ten years," Noonan told a business seminar in London.

In the first stage of the process, he plans to sell no more than 25 percent of the 99-percent owned lender, with the first window of opportunity seen in October-November this year. But the timing was still under consideration.

On euro zone affairs, Noonan said he was against any country exiting the 19-nation bloc or receiving a sovereign debt write-off. (Reporting by Andy Bruce and Marius Zaharia; Editing by Padraic Halpin and Louise Heavens)