Savers await Bank of Ireland's Pibs decision

Pensioners holding nearly £46m of old Bristol & West permanent interest bearing shares (Pibs) are this weekend sweating over whether they will be allowed to keep them.

Now run by the Bank of Ireland, pibs-holders with £29m of the £75m of the high-yielding bonds agreed to a deal where they accepted 40p in the pound for them as part of a restructuring. The Irish government can potentially say to those who did not agree to the deal that they will get just a penny for every £1,000 of pibs they own. Due to the 13.375 per cent annual payout, many pensioners with few savings bought pibs in the 1990s to help cover their outgoings.