National Irish Bank

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National Irish Bank Limited

Type	Private limited company by shares - Subsidiary of Danske Bank AS
Founded	Dublin, Ireland (1986)
Headquarters	Dublin, Ireland
Key people	Peter Straarup, Chairman, Andrew Healy, CEO
Products	Various banking products
Employees	800 (2004)
Slogan	New thinking in banking
Website	www.nationalirishbank.ie/

National Irish Bank (NIB) is a commercial bank in the Republic of Ireland, one of the traditional Big Four. In December 2004, Danske Bank agreed to purchase National Irish Bank (and Northern Bank) from the National Australia Bank for GB£967m (approx €1400m).

It is the fourth largest high street bank in the Republic of Ireland and offers a full range of commercial and personal banking products. It is part of the Laser payment system.

The bank suffered a scandal in its personal banking division some years ago (see history, below). However the bank has undergone substantial change as a result of its acquisition by Danske Bank, with a new look and product offering unveiled on 18 April 2006.

1 History
2 High Court Inspectors' report
3 Former officers cited for disqualification
4 Changes under Danske
5 Tiger robbery, August 2006
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] History

What is now National Irish Bank was originally the Republic of Ireland branch network of Northern Bank, one of the oldest banks in Ireland (dating back to 1824). National Irish Bank was created as a separate entity in 1986, at first under the name Northern Bank (Ireland) Limited, when the Midland Bank, UK separated Northern Bank's operations in the Republic of Ireland from its Northern Ireland business.

In 1987, both banks were acquired by National Australia Bank Limited. In 1988, the Republic of Ireland operation was renamed National Irish Bank Limited whilst Northern Bank Limited remains the name of the Northern Ireland operation. Nonetheless, a single management team continued to run both banks, which shared many services and back office functions.

During this era, the logo of the National Irish Bank was that of the National Australia Bank (at the time), except that the red star had been recoloured green, and "Irish Bank" was added alongside the word "National". The original Northern Bank (Ireland) logo had been the Midland Bank griffin.

[edit] High Court Inspectors' report

In 1998, an RTÉ programme claimed that National Irish Bank had been overcharging customers and assisting in tax avoidance schemes. Inspectors were appointed by the High Court in Dublin^[1]. Their conclusions were:

Bogus non-resident accounts or fictitiously named accounts were opened and maintained in some branches enabling customers to evade tax

Clerical Medical Insurance (CMI) policies were promoted as an investment for funds undisclosed to the Revenue Commissioners

Special Savings Accounts had Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) deducted at a reduced rate

There was improper charging of interest or fees to some customers. (The bank has refunded all customers who the Inspectors alleged had been mischarged.)

[edit] Former officers cited for disqualification

Following the Inspectors' report, the Director of Corporate Enforcement took disqualification proceedings against nine former NIB personnel, none of whom has been employed by NIB since the 1990's. ^[2]

Nigel D'Arcy, former Head of the Financial Advice and Services Division, was barred by the High Court on October 26, 2006 from acting as a director of any company for a period of 10 years.^[3] ^[4].

The Director has applied for similar orders against eight other NIB former directors or managers, including former CEO Jim Lacey. However, those applications are being opposed by the eight respondents and hearing dates have yet to be fixed. Lacey stated that the six-year investigation into tax evasion was "flawed" and that the Inspectors were guilty of "basic errors"^[5]

[edit] Changes under Danske

On 1st March 2005 Danske formally took control of National Irish Bank. It announced as its first act that the Northern Bank and National Irish Bank would be fully separated from each other, with a new management team appointed to National Irish Bank. An interim CEO, John Trethowan, was appointed. Some shared back office services will remain. The bank changed over to the Danske Bank technology platform and removed any shared services provided by National Australia Bank Europe, however a two year extra-service agreement exists in that the bank will continue to receive many key technology services from the National Australia Group.

Also the bank adopted the logo of Danske Bank, albeit with the word "Danske" replaced by "National Irish". As preparation for this change, the star logo was dropped by National Irish Bank, along with the National Australia "Tailored Financial Solutions" slogan. On 14 April 2006 the old NAB-style logotype was replaced with the new logo on the bank's website, with the bank formally being relaunched on 18 April, with a new product offering, and a revamped internet banking system. Among the innovations is the use of text messages to communicate with customers.

In June 2005 Andrew Healy was appointed chief executive officer of National Irish Bank.

In January 2007 Danske Bank announced that the banking business of National Irish Bank would be transfered to Danske Bank A/S, Irish Branch. The practical effect of this is that from 1 April 2007 National Irish Bank will no longer be regulated by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority but by the Danish authorities instead, as NIB will now be a division of Danske Bank rather than a separate subsidiary. The business will continue to be operated under the name of National Irish Bank.

[edit] Tiger robbery, August 2006

The Killester, Dublin branch of National Irish Bank was the scene of a 'tiger robbery' on August 29, 2006 when a 23-year old employee was kidnapped by an armed gang. The bank handed over a ransom of €270,000 without informing or involving the Garda Siochana. The Garda Siochana heavily criticized this action, stating that it leaves the bank exposed in the future to replica attacks.^[6]