DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's permanent TSB (I:IPM) (PTSB) can return to full private ownership and repay all of the bailout funds provided by the government by mid-2018, the Irish Times on Tuesday quoted Chief Executive Jeremy Masding as saying.
PTSB raised 400 million euros (285 million pounds) in a share offer priced at the top of a range of 3.90 to 4.50 euros per share on Monday, valuing the first Irish lender to launch a public share sale since the financial crisis at 2 billion euros.
"Returning the bank to private ownership is my goal and, based on the business plan presented to investors, that timeframe is a realistic objective," Masding was quoted as saying, referring to a timeframe of late 2017 or mid-2018.
The share sale prompted Ireland's finance minister to promise taxpayers a recovery of the full 2.7 billion euros invested in the bank despite PTSB management consistently saying such an outcome was unlikely.
Masding, who as recently as March said that a full repayment was unlikely, was quoted as saying that this was now a "much more realistic objective" based on what he had seen in the past couple of months.