Bank of Scotland (Ireland) reassured investors that its structured products will operate until maturity, as it announced it will close its Halifax retail banking business in Ireland. The bank said it wants to concentrate solely on the commercial and corporate sides of its business.
"The fledging Halifax retail business lacks the required scale to succeed in this very tough competitive economic climate. There is no strategy for this business that will see it achieve breakeven or profit in a realistic lifetime," said the bank in a statement. Chief executive Joe Higgins added, "We have arrived at this difficult position only after an extensive and exhaustive review of all options to secure a viable future for the bank overall and for these businesses."
A spokesperson for the union Unite, which represents many of the bank's workers in Ireland, said, "This is a crazy decision to take at such short notice when the prospect of a third banking force in Ireland of which Bank of Scotland (Ireland) could be a huge part is still very much in the mix... There is a huge human cost to the announcement today, and people are in a state of total shock." Around 750 jobs are expected to be lost as the bank's 44 retail branches close down.
The bank will contact customers at the end of February to outline the effects the reorganisation will have on them.