Date for IPO of AIB shares drifts further out of view

The timing of an IPO of AIB shares was just one of the many issues that the Minister for Finance Michael Noonan was asked to address by media in the wake of his budget speech on Tuesday.

A flotation of AIB shares was originally mooted for 2015 but the timing of various capital restructuring actions saw it drift into this year.

That timeline was then scuppered by negative market sentiment towards banks, and the Brexit vote in June. The mood music of late has suggested that the first half of 2017 is probably out too, and the Minister was keen to stress this week that no firm decision on a listing of shares next year had ever been taken.

“We never decided we would have [an IPO] in 2017, the only consideration is the amount of money we can recover for the taxpayer and we’ll sell when we think we’re at the best position to get the maximum amount,” Reuters reported Noonan as telling a post-Budget 2017 news conference.

This is a sensible position, of course, as the State’s finances have been repaired to such a degree that it doesn’t need to rush the sale of a 25 per cent stake in AIB. And there are other ways to achieve a return from the bank.

AIB received a €20.8 billion bailout from taxpayers post the banking crash in late 2008, with the State now owning 99.9 per cent of the institution. The bank has since repaid about €3.3 billion in capital, while also paying substantial sums via the bank levy (€60 million last year alone) and in guarantee fees.

It also seems poised to pay a dividend to the State in the coming months, from surplus capital – a first such payment to shareholders since the crash. It's even expected to beat rival Bank of Ireland to the punch on that score.

Of course, Bank of Ireland can point to having repaid all of its €4.7 billion bailout money, with the State still owning a 14 per cent share in the company (worth about €780 million) as a bonus.

All in all, not a bad position to be in for Mr Noonan.