Bank of Ireland has used an odd-lot share buyback to reduce the number of small shareholders on its register by 24,000. The scheme allows investors holding small stakes to sell their shares back to the company rather than arranging a conventional sale on the main stock market. That route is useful when a holding is too small to make an ordinary share sale worthwhile. The transaction has consolidated the bank’s shareholder base by removing 24,000 holders from its register. The announcement does not disclose the purchase price, the total cash cost or the number of shares involved. No information was provided about whether the buyback is a one-time exercise or part of a continuing program.