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The move will be the biggest shake up in the banking sector since Ulster Bank and KBC Bank quit the market here, if PTSB can find a strategic buyer. Shares in PTSB shot up 20pc on Thursday, to €2.81 each, a level last seen in 2017. Even so, a sale at anything close to the current valuations will leave taxpayers at a loss on the €4bn cost of rescuing what was Irish Life and Permanent back in 2011. Taxpayers have recouped around €2.8bn of the cost of the IL&P rescue since then, including from the €1.3bn sale of Irish Life back in 2013. “PTSB has a compelling strategic position within the highly attractive Irish banking market, having undergone a significant transformation in recent years, demonstrating strong business and financial performance and continued growth in its balance sheet and customer base,” the bank said on Monday. There has been speculation that Spanish lender Bankinter, which owns the Avant Money brand here and has been expanding it Irish business, could be a buyer. However, management at Spain’s fifth largest bank insisted earlier this month that their plan is to continue to grow organically in Ireland dismissing speculation PTSB would make an attractive target for the business. Today's News in 90 Seconds - Thursday, October 30 In a statement outlining its sale plans, PTSB said it has seen a significant increase in appetite for its shares from international investors, along with what it called “unprecedented demand” for its recent Green Tier 2 issuance. "Consequently, the Board of PTSB, with the support of its largest shareholder, the Minister for Finance of Ireland, Paschal Donohoe, has concluded that it is now in the best interests of the bank and its key stakeholders to commence a FSP with the intention of identifying a new long-term owner of the bank.” Goldman Sachs has been appointed as financial adviser to run the process. PTSB is the last of the bailed out banks still in majority state hands. The Government owns a 57.5pc stake and will therefore be the main beneficiary of sale proceeds. Paschal Donohoe said increased investor interest in European banks presents the State with the opportunity to exit its last remaining shareholding in an Irish bank after 17 years. “The State’s investment in PTSB was made during the financial crisis to safeguard the stability of the banking system and protect depositors. A sale of the State’s investment would be consistent with the objective of recovering taxpayer funds that were used to rescue the Irish banks and deploying these to more productive purposes,” he said. PTSB has separately also published its Q3 2025 trading statement. Relative to last year, PTSB’s deposit book has grown 7pc, the mortgage book is up 4pc, and the business banking book is up 11pc. Total gross loans on the bank’s balance sheet rose to €22.4bn at end of September 2025, up 4pc from a year earlier.
