DUBLIN (Bloomberg) — Irish banks may be left with a 16 billion-euro ($21.4 billion) hole as the government's plan to salvage the financial system unfolds next week.

The state agency set up to absorb loans from Bank of Ireland Plc, Allied Irish Banks Plc and other lenders may say on March 29 how much it will pay for them. Analysts then expect the regulator to set out new capital requirements for the banks.

"We are into the endgame now," said Kevin McConnell, head of research at Dublin-based Bloxham Stockbrokers. "By the end of the week, we should know how much capital they will need."

Allied Irish may require 4.4 billion euros and Bank of Ireland 3 billion euros, depending on the financial regulator's decision, McConnell estimated. Anglo Irish Bank Corp., nationalised last year, will need as much as 9 billion euros, chief executive officer Mike Aynsley said this week.

Ireland's banking system began to unravel two years ago after the economy entered a recession and the real-estate market collapsed.