It has emerged that Lonestar, a US private equity firm, as well as a consortium of Centerbridge and Sixth Street, also US private equity firms, are among the bidders for PTSB. In the decade leading up to the financial crash in 2008, there were six Irish domestic banks and a raft of foreign-owned lenders with Irish operations. In the aftermath of the crisis, the six domestic banks collapsed into three and the foreign-owned lenders folded their Irish operations. Private equity firms do not always make the most suitable owners of banks as their focus is often to cut costs, maximise profit and then sell at the earliest opportunity. Of course, the US private equity firms circling PTSB might say they are in it for the long haul.

Source: The Irish Times April 06, 2026 22:18 UTC