Ulster Bank is to close down its Republic of Ireland business over the next few years.
The bank's parent company, Nat West, made the announcement on Friday.
Ulster Bank is by some measures the third largest bank in the Republic of Ireland but has struggled to be profitable.
Ulster Bank's business in Northern Ireland will continue to trade but there are concerns the move could impact jobs.
Claire Hanna, the SDLP MP for South Belfast said: "The removal of Ulster Bank from the Republic of Ireland serves a threat to around 700 jobs in the northern operation, they are backroom staff who administer daily for the southern operation.
"Where state owned banks are looking to capitalise on this opportunity to buy loan books, I will be making representation to both the London and Dublin governments to ensure they use their strength to protect the workers at the heart of today's devastating news."
NatWest Group CEO Alison Rose said: "Following an extensive review and despite the progress that has been made, it has become clear Ulster Bank will not be able to generate sustainable long terms returns for our shareholders.
"As a result, we are to begin a phased withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland over the coming years which will be undertaken with careful consideration of the impact on customers and our colleagues."
'Upward pressure'
Ulster Bank was founded in Belfast in 1836 and opened its first branch in Dublin in 1862.
It currently employs more than 2,500 people in the Republic of Ireland.
It has a loan book of more than 20bn euro (£17.2bn), mostly domestic mortgages.
Those loans will be sold on to other financial institutions or managed for Nat West by a loan service company.
AIB has already agreed to buy 4bn (£3.4bn) euro of commercial loans.
The decision to wind down the bank was widely expected and has raised concerns about competition.
The Irish market is dominated by two banks, Bank of Ireland and AIB.
On Thursday, Sinn Féin Finance spokesman Pearse Doherty warned that an Ulster Bank exit could place "upward pressure" on interest rates and he urged the Irish government do all it could to minimise the damage to customers.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiMGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWV1cm9wZS01NjEyMzEwNtIBNGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FtcC93b3JsZC1ldXJvcGUtNTYxMjMxMDY?oc=5
2021-02-19 07:29:18Z
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