Banks finally move to release pre-crash shareholders from their financial shackles

AIB / PTSB logos

Sixteen years after Ireland’s banks required bailouts that plunged the State into a financial crisis, lenders are finally getting around to dealing with one of the final loose ends from that era – the tens of thousands of shareholders who are left with holdings in the banks that are now pretty much worthless.

AIB and PTSB have both announced “odd lot” offers to mop up shares in the bank from people who would pay more in stockbroker fees to sell their shares than those shares are actually worth at current values.

I won’t say “looking after,” as all of the shareholders eligible for the “odd lot” buyouts are very deep in the red on their investments. They invested back when bank shares were reliable sources of income via dividends, and bank bosses were assuring us they knew what they were doing and that any downturn would be a soft landing.

And a key motivation for the banks is reducing their own costs.

 

Available to read here at: https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2024/09/27/banks-finally-move-to-release-pre-crash-shareholders-from-their-financial-shackles/?