We bailed out AIB but now our money is not welcome

THE countdown may be on for the flotation of AIB but sadly it is of little significance for the ordinary people of Ireland.

Unlike the Eircom free-for-all, the rules are tight about who can invest in the State-owned bank and how.

Nobody with less than €10,000 spare change need apply, while you also must have an account with a stockbroker. It’s fair to say that cuts out most of us.

Only time will tell if the shares come good, but it seems a bit unfair that most of the taxpayers who bailed out the bank seven years ago are prevented from taking a chance on what has been billed the biggest flotation in the Dublin and London stock markets this year, if not in the whole of Europe.

Our money was good enough during the bust, when AIB desperately needed €21bn to save it from collapse and wasn’t too fussed about where it got it.

But it’s not quite up to scratch now that the bank has returned to profitability and so can afford to be rather more picky. Doubtless, the Department of Finance has lots of reasons for prohibiting small-time punts – it wants to preserve the bank’s prestige, its blue-chip image and save people of limited means from a repeat of the Eircom saga.

But the watertight rules also deny ordinary people a potential windfall, while ensuring that the rich will reap any benefits of the flotation.

Some things never change.