Bank of Ireland to return to full private ownership shortly - minister

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's finance minister said on Wednesday that he expects to announce shortly that the government has cut its shareholding in Bank of Ireland to zero having raised over 800 million euros by selling shares in the bank in the last year.

The finance ministry began the gradual sale of the state's residual 13.9% shareholding in the country's largest bank by assets in August 2021 and had cut its stake in the lender below 3% by June of this year.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe also told a parliamentary committee that his department would resume a similar gradual sale of shares in AIB Group later this month while also monitoring the market for opportunities to sell a larger chunk of stock in one go.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)