Six property bankers have defected from Bank of Scotland (Ireland) to join a rival institution which is seeking to gain a share of the Irish commercial lending market.
Two informed sources said last night that the bankers were leaving to join Dunbar Bank, a property-focused unit of the Swiss-based Zurich Financial Services group.
The loss of the team was acknowledged by Bank of Scotland (Ireland), although it did not say where they were going. "I can confirm that six bankers have left," a spokesman said.
Those involved are understood to include Sandra Plunkett, a senior banker who previously worked for First Active, which is now part of Ulster Bank. Some other team members also worked in the past for First Active and left that institution to join Bank of Scotland (Ireland) in 2004.
A spokeswoman in London for the Zurich group had no comment. However, the organisation already has a presence in Ireland through Zurich Bank, an IFSC-registered institution, which made pretax profits of £21.73 million (€31.98 million) in 2005 and paid dividends of £24.83 million (€36.5 million .
Zurich Bank said in its latest annual report, for 2005, that it was exploring a number of new opportunities for the business. In 2005, Zurich Bank acquired Dunbar Bank from another group entity. Dunbar's principal line of business is short-term lending for commercial and residential property development and investment.
After developing a strong business in commercial lending, Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is rebranding itself as Halifax as it strives to build a presence in retail banking.
Controlled by Halifax Bank of Scotland, the organisation is building a branch network in sites formerly occupied by the ESB group of electrical shops.
