Department of Finance sources are indicating this morning that any decision as to whether AIB shares will be offered for sale to individual members of the public will be one for the incoming administration.

This follows an interview with AIB Chief Financial Officer, Mark Bourke, that appeared on Bloomberg yesterday, where he suggested that retail investors should participate in the offer and that it would be important – if everything went well – that the public felt they had access to the process.

It’s understood the Department is close to announcing the appointment of a number of international and domestic financial advisers to the transaction. These won’t include Goldman Sachs, who have been doing preliminary preparatory work on a pro bono basis to date.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said last week that if Fine Gael returns to power after the General Election it is ready to proceed with the re-floatation, and that it would be likely to occur during the autumn. 25% of the State's stake will be offered, with the main listing being on the London stock exchange.

Meanwhile the Central Bank has advised all banks who have issued tracker mortgages to home and business owners, that they will need to appoint third party advisers to assure the bank they have thoroughly reviewed their tracker mortgage processes and that customers’ rights have been fully met.