Anglo Irish Bank nationalisation approved by EU

European Union regulators gave their approval today to the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank by the Irish government.

The European Commission said it had "no objections" to the move, adding that the takeover of the banks assets and remaining shares are not being accompanied by additional government aid, which could raise competition concerns.

"No further aid is being granted to Anglo Irish Bank beyond the guarantees already in place," which already received EU approval in October, the commission said in a statement.

The bank also received an emergency Irish government 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) loan in January.

Irish authorities announced plans to nationalise the bank in late January to prevent further damage to the country's wider economy.

The specialist lender was heavily exposed to the property and construction markets, which have both been badly hurt by the economic downturn and the credit crunch in the wake of the subprime lending crisis erupted in the U.S.

By the end of last year, Anglo's shares had lost nearly 98 percent of their value from a 2007 peak.

Anglo Irish was also caught up in a scandal last month involving loans that were not fully disclosed.

Anglo Irish Chairman Sean FitzPatrick quit last month after investigators discovered he had been hiding from shareholders his own personal loans from the bank totaling 87 million euros and raising questions about lax ethical practices at the bank.