Apart from its desire to expand in Britain, Bank of Ireland will be among the front runners to acquire the State-owned ICC Bank when it comes on the market, and is also looking for acquisitions in Northern Ireland. Group chief executive, Mr Maurice Keane, says the bank is focused on achieving a more substantial presence in the small to medium-sized business sector here and ICC presents it with a good opportunity.

Among the Irish institutions, Bank of Ireland and Irish Intercontinental Bank are expected to most aggressively chase ICC, although they will also face stiff competition from overseas banks.

Mr Keane says it will look at the documentation when it is issued by the Government and will put a value on it.

Bank of Ireland is also interested in expanding its presence in Northern Ireland.

In the Republic the bank is more interested in developing new distribution channels to sell its products than acquire any further retail banking operations.