IRISH LIFE TO SPLIT FROM BANK AND FLOAT

Following yesterday's announcement that €24bn of fresh capital is to be injected into the Irish banking sector, bancassurer Irish Life & Permanent says it is looking to float its life insurance business. The chief executive of Irish Life Retail told broadcaster RTE that the life insurance company will seek a listing in London and Dublin. "We are starting the process immediately and we hope to complete the process in the next three to six months," Gerry Hassett told RTE. The Irish Minister for Finance Michael Noonan announced yesterday that IL&P will immediately start a process to sell its non-banking assets to help raise the €4bn required to cope with potential losses. Mr Hassett said that there is interest in Irish Life, which has an embedded value of €1.6bn.