Ireland’s two largest banks rallied this week in the build up to an emergency budget unveiled by the Irish government to take bad debts off their hands.
Such a move had been anticipated in the market, with Ireland’s two biggest banks gaining momentum since the start of March – Allied Irish Banks up 240 per cent and Bank of Ireland 380 per cent. Under the plan, a new National Asset Management Agency will be charged with buying up to €90bn in toxic bank assets at a discounted price.
