Allied Irish set to be taken into state control

The Irish government is poised to inject a further €3.7bn into Allied Irish Banks, effectively nationalising the lender.

Ireland’s finance minister Brian Lenihan will seek approval later today from the Dublin High Court to make the new capital injection from the country’s National Pension Reserve Fund, according to Ireland’s National Public Service Broadcaster RTE. The transfer was approved by the European Commission earlier this week and if agreed by AIB will be made later today. Majority state ownership of the country’s second largest general lender has looked likely since the European Union and International Monetary Fund committed a €67.5bn bailout package to Ireland last month on the grounds the ba...