This phenomenon has been noted for a while, but the Irish Times explains it nicely --
Mr Noonan [Irish Minister for Finance] also updated Mr McGrath on the valuations of the State’s investments in AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB. The 99.8 per cent holding in AIB is valued at €6.5 billion by the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF), which manages the Government’s holdings in the banks. This follows an independent review by Goodbody Corporate Finance, as revealed last month by The Irish Times . The residual shares in AIB trade on the Irish Stock Exchange at 14.1 pence apiece, giving it a notional market value of €73.5 billion. This is based on the share buying by retail investors and has no bearing on reality.
One bigger question springing from this unusual case is whether any bank should be allowed to have shares trade on the stock market.
Mr Noonan [Irish Minister for Finance] also updated Mr McGrath on the valuations of the State’s investments in AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB. The 99.8 per cent holding in AIB is valued at €6.5 billion by the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF), which manages the Government’s holdings in the banks. This follows an independent review by Goodbody Corporate Finance, as revealed last month by The Irish Times . The residual shares in AIB trade on the Irish Stock Exchange at 14.1 pence apiece, giving it a notional market value of €73.5 billion. This is based on the share buying by retail investors and has no bearing on reality.
One bigger question springing from this unusual case is whether any bank should be allowed to have shares trade on the stock market.