Bank of Ireland dividend payment to the National Pensions Reserve Fund
The Minister for Finance, Mr. Brian Lenihan T.D., welcomed the announcement of a payment by Bank of Ireland to the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) of €214.5 million. He stated:
"I welcome Bank of Ireland's intention to pay €214.5 million of cash to the State. This payment is in return for the States investment in the Bank and is a very welcome return to the National Pension Reserve Fund."
The payment of €214.5 million is the coupon due on the preference shares that Bank of Ireland received under the recapitalisation agreement. Last year, in light of a request from the European Commission, Bank of Ireland paid the dividend on the NPRF Preference Shares in the form of Ordinary shares, rather than cash.
The Minister concluded by stating:
"This payment will bring the cash return to the State from its investment in Bank of Ireland to over €757 million."
18th February 2011
Ends
Note to Editors
The Government, through the NPRF, injected €3.5bn into Bank of Ireland in 2009, by means of Preference Shares at 8% interest.
As part of Bank of Ireland’s capital raising exercise in May 2010, €1.66bn of these Shares was converted to Ordinary Shares and the coupon on the remainder was increased to 10.25%. The NPRF received some €543m for the cancellation of warrants and fees.