Bank of Ireland announces 30-to-1 share consolidation

DUBLIN, March 31 (Reuters) - Bank of Ireland (EUREX: 1269463.EX - news) on Friday announced a share consolidation and corporate restructuring in moves it said would help it comply with new European banking regulations.

The bank, Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) 's largest lender by assets, said it has applied to establish a new Irish-incorporated group holding company, Bank of Ireland Group plc, that will become the 100 percent owner of the ordinary stock of the bank.

At the same time it will consolidate its share structure, with ordinary stockholder receiving one share in the new entity for every 30 units of stock held.

Stockholders' ownership of the group will not change as a result of the move, it said. The bank is 14 percent owned by the Irish state.

The move will position the share price "in a range that is more appropriate to the size of the Group" and may assist in reducing share price volatility, the bank said in a statement.

The moves were agreed with regulators at the European Union's Single Resolution Board and the Bank of England, and will allow the bank to comply with new rules on bank bail-ins, it said. (Reporting by Conor Humphries, editing by David Evans)