Bank of Ireland has confirmed that it has been approached by a number of parties interested in investing in the bank.
The news comes after reports that a major consolidation of Irish banks has emerged as a possible solution to the crisis.
Bank of Ireland says it has received what it calls 'unsolicited approaches' from a number of parties.
But its short statement does not name the groups involved, and says no decision has yet been made.
Last night, RTÉ News reported that talks between Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan and bank chiefs had led to the possibility of a radical overhaul of the Irish bank system.
This led to speculation about what shape this would take, and whether foreign or private equity investors would be involved.
Bank of Ireland shares, which had already climbed this morning, were up almost 25% at €1.26 just after the statement.
The Group Chief Executive of AIB Bank has declined to comment on the situation.
Arriving at a function in Dublin this afternoon, Eugene Sheehy said 'shareholders read what they read but we have no comment to make'.
Mr Sheehy said the Government and banks are talking to one another and he would not be making any comments on the nature of those talks.
Asked if he could see a situation where there would be only two large banks operating in the Irish market, he responded that was speculation.
Talk of banks being reduced to two
Yesterday's talks involved a series of meetings at Farmleigh between Mr Lenihan and senior executives from the financial institutions covered under the State guarantee scheme.
Since the guarantee Mr Lenihan has the power to force mergers between financial institutions.
After the meetings some participants believed only Bank of Ireland and AIB would remain after the shake-up, but there has been no comment on the content of meetings.
Earlier Mr Lenihan said his meetings were focused on ensuring there would be adequate credit for Irish businesses.
The suggestion of a major wave of consolidation would also have to be linked with fresh capital for the banks.
There is still no clear picture of how a final deal would be put together or how long it would take.
