Boom-era banker Mark Duffy, who oversaw Bank of Scotland (Ireland)’s introduction of tracker and interest-only mortgages as mainstream products in the Republic pre-2008 crash, knows how to stir things up.
A move by his fledgling corporate advisory firm, Axis Capital, on Friday evening to say it’s weighing making a tilt at PTSB comes weeks before the High Court is due to sanction the bank’s takeover by Austria’s Bawag. And 11 months after PTSB was formally put up for sale.
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The promise by Axis, which Duffy cofounded three years ago with German corporate lawyer Lutz Hartmann, that any possible offer would be in cash at €3.20 per share – 7.7 per cent above Bawag’s €2.97-a-share offer – would result in Minister for Finance Simon Harris receiving just over €1 billion for the State’s 57.5 per cent PTSB stake.
It’s small change by the standards of the €125.5 billion expenditure ceiling on Budget 2027. But it is hardly nothing – particularly when Harris and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers face some difficult last-minute budget choices that will inevitably trigger criticism from Opposition, lobby groups and families believing they could have done more.
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Duffy stepped down as Bank of Scotland (Ireland) chief executive in early 2009, months after its parent HBOS was taken over by Lloyds Banking Group in a shotgun merger in the UK. Lloyds recorded €14.8 billion in losses on the Irish loan book after the 2008 crash, including impairment charges and shortfalls on loan disposals.
Duffy helped initiate talks in 2025 between US equity firm Centerbridge, the Department of Finance and PTSB. Centerbridge later submitted a non-binding proposal for the State’s stake but was the underbidder when the formal sale process concluded in April.
Axis says its plan to turn PTSB into a “real third force” is based on “growth without gambling”, relying on “prudent capital, a transparent scorecard and no dependence on aggressive synergies”.
[ PTSB 'focused' on Bawag bid after ‘highly speculative’ Axis announcement Opens in new window ]
The problem is that the firm is only now engaging with potential financial backers. How could it even have put a price out there without financing in place?
More curious still is the absence of named financial advisers from Friday’s announcement. Duffy declined to say whether Axis has investment banking advisers or even indicative financial backing.
Even if Axis makes no further announcement in the coming weeks, observers say it’s likely some minority investors who are against the Bawag deal will ask the High Court to at least adjourn the sanctioning meeting on October 27th to see whether Duffy can come up with the goods. There may be a few more twists yet.
