The move ends 13 years of government involvement in the bank, which started during the aftermath of the 2008-09 global financial crisis when the government had played an important role in the Irish financial sector by rescuing several lenders

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Bank of Ireland returns to private ownership. (Credit: Cory Woodward on Unsplash)

The Bank of Ireland Group is now returned to full private ownership, as the government of Ireland has sold its entire remaining stake in the Irish lender.

The move ends 13 years of government involvement in the bank, which started during the aftermath of the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

The government had played an important role in the Irish financial sector, by rescuing several lenders during the financial crisis, reported Bloomberg.

In June last year, the Irish government initially announced a share trading plan to partly divest its stake in the bank over a period of six months.

The state owned around 150.4 million shares, which form around 14% stake in the bank.

Bank of Ireland becomes the first Irish lender to be bailed out during the financial crisis to return to full private ownership.

The Irish government said that it has received almost €6.7bn in returns from the original investment of €4.7bn in the Bank of Ireland.

Bank of Ireland interim group CEO Gavin Kelly said: “The completion of the sale of the State shareholding in Bank of Ireland is a very positive moment for Irish taxpayers, for Bank of Ireland, and for the sector as a whole.

“Bank of Ireland should never have needed support from the taxpayer. We will always be grateful for the help we received.

“This is a milestone moment for Bank of Ireland as we move conclusively beyond the financial crisis, and is a very important step towards full normalisation of our relationship with the State.”

The state injected €64bn, which amounts to nearly almost 40% of its annual economic output into the Ireland banks, reported Reuters.

The state ownership had imposed few restrictions on bank employees, such as capping their salaries at €500,000, and banning bonuses, putting the bank at a competitive disadvantage.

The current private ownership is expected to lift those restrictions.

Furthermore, the Ireland government still holds majority stakes in AIB Group and Permanent TSB Group, which are combinedly valued at around €4.9bn, Bloomberg reported.

Last year, Bank of Ireland agreed to acquire all of the performing loan portfolios and deposits of KBC Bank Ireland (KBCI), a subsidiary of KBC Group, for €5bn.