MOST of Norwich Union's 150,000 Irish policyholders will by now have received their free shares and any additional shares purchased as part of last week's flotation. The company posted all share certificates from London on Friday.

The shares traded slightly higher in London yesterday, ending the day 3p better at 328p. Over 38 million shares were traded in London, with stockbrokers in Dublin still reporting relatively quiet trading. Activity is expected to pick up sharply this week, however, as many small shareholders begin to cash in their shares. Shareholders can sell their shares once they have received their share certificates.

Policyholders who subscribed for more shares than they were allocated will also shortly be receiving a refund in the post. Norwich Union has pledged to refund all monies to disappointed policyholders before July 5th.

Irish banks and building societies, which lent more than £500 million to customers to buy additional Norwich Union shares, will also be expecting these customers to lodge any refunds they receive in part payment of their loans.

Those who borrowed to buy the maximum allocation of £112,500 shares got just over £10,000 worth of shares and will be refunded around £100,000. Some banks are understood to have requested Norwich Union to address these refunds directly to the branches to part clear these loans.

Norwich Union has, however, failed to guarantee that it can comply with this request because of the huge administrative burden it would place on the company.

The banks yesterday dismissed speculation that they were concerned that refunds were being paid directly to shareholders. An AIB spokesman said loans had been advanced on the basis of normal lending criteria. "The transfer of shares and refunds to the bank was not a condition attached to all loans," according to AIB.