Irish Bank in Capital Crisis Sells Artworks; Others May Follow

Bank of Ireland Plc is to start selling its art collection after Standard & Poor’s estimated the government-backed recapitalizing of the banking system may cost as much as 50 billion euros ($64 billion).

The collection, begun in the 1970s primarily to support emerging Irish artists, has about 2,000 works including local favorites such as Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy and Robert Ballagh. It is expected to raise more than 4 million euros ($5.1 million) in funds for charity over the next five years, Audrey Nolan, the bank’s head of corporate social responsibility, said.