DUBLIN, June 23 (Reuters) - Ireland's finance minister said
it is still possible that the state could make a profit through
the sale of its holdings in local banks that are still trading
but it will depend on how long a period it is prepared to wait
to offload the stakes.
Paschal Donohoe's predecessor, Michael Noonan, predicted in
2017 that the government would recoup more than the 29.4 billion
euros it used to rescue in Bank of Ireland, Allied
Irish Banks and permanent tsb.
Donohoe announced on Wednesday that he will begin to sell
down part of the state's 13.9% shareholding in Bank of Ireland
over the next six months. Ireland pumped 64 billion euros into
its banks a decade ago, with more than half of that swallowed up
by lenders that subsequently failed.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Toby Chopra)