BOI shares fall sharply to lowest in 17 years

Bank of Ireland's share price fell sharply in trading today, with the bank, which is the second largest in Ireland, losing 23.5 per cent of its market value.

Bank of Ireland saw its share price dip below the psychological €1 mark in trading in another dismal session for the Iseq index.

It closed at a price of 83 cent, its lowest since 1991, and a loss of 25 cent on the day, after its announcement last week that it was suspending the payment of dividends. More than 10 million of the bank's shares changed hands, with the average transaction below 90 cent. The bank's share price has lost 95 per cent of its value this year.

Anglo Irish Bank also had a bad day, falling 13.9 per cent, but managed to close above ¤1 at a price of €1.11, a decline of 17 cent.

AIB dropped 10.2 per cent to €2.65, while Irish Life & Permanent actually gained a cent to close at €1.56.

Both Irish Life & Permanent and Bank of Ireland were removed from a key Dow Jones index, the Dow Jones Eurostoxx Dividend Select 30, on Friday.

Overall, the Iseq index continued its turgid November by falling 3.9 per cent in trading today, down more than 100 points.

Elsewhere, there were grim interim management statements from building materials group Kingspan, which said it expected full-year profits to be down by a third, and financial services group IFG, which revised downwards its projections for full-year results.

Kingspan fell 11.5 per cent in trading to close at ¤3.27, while IFG fell 5.7 per cent to 82 cent.

Ryanair also had a bad day, falling 6 per cent, while the Iseq's dominant stock, CRH, fell 2 per cent.