Permanent TSB has finished its deleveraging programme of non-core assets in Ireland.

The final stage was wrapped up with the sale of approximately €300 million of face-value commercial real estate loans, bringing the total the State-owned bank has shed to €2.8bn.

The programme began three years ago as part of a restructuring plan agreed between the State and the European Commission as part of a €4bn taypayer bailout following the global economic crash.

The price secured in the final sale is thought to be higher than PTSB had originally provided for, according to the Irish Times.

The bank's assistant treasurer Declan Dolan said the loan sales marked another "significant and positive" step for the bank returning to normality.

He said:

"The non-core Ireland deleveraging programme has further strengthened the group's balance sheet and funding profile.

"Further, it was achieved at a price that we believe maximised stakeholder value and minimised capital loss."

PTSB recently announced its best results since 2007. It posted after-tax profits of €80m for the six months of the year in July, marking a return to profit after nine years. The interim showed a major turnaround from the same period in 2015, when PTSB made a loss of €410m.

The bank is now planning to borrow €690m in bond debt, backed by low risk Irish home loans.