merrion street

The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan TD, today welcomed the decision of the European Commission to approve the revised restructuring plan of Bank of Ireland ("the bank") under EU state aid rules.

Commission approval for the revised plan, the main elements of which were previously announced by the bank on 18 June 2011 confirms its restoration of long-term viability. The Commission is satisfied that the revised plan provides an appropriate contribution by the bank to its restructuring costs and contains measures to limit distortions of competition in the Irish banking sector.

Today’s Commission decision follows several months of detailed analysis and assessment of the plan involving the European Commission, Bank of Ireland and the national authorities.

The Minister said:

"The Commission’s approval of the revised restructuring plan is another step in the achievement of the Government’s strategy of returning the banking system to long-term viability and profitability."

The revised plan consists of significant deleveraging and disposal of non-core assets so that the business model can now re-focus on core lending to support the economy. As Bank of Ireland noted yesterday, their adherence to the deleveraging and disposal timetable to date has been very strong. The plan also contains measures to continue to facilitate competition in the banking sector.

The Minister also expressed his gratitude to Commissioner Almunia and his officials in the Commission for their work and dedication to bring the bank’s revised restructuring plan to a conclusion.

The measures included in the revised plan will be implemented over various time-frames between now and 31 December 2015.