So the battle of the Scottish banking giants is to resume in the Irish market. Since the Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland went into battle to take over the NatWest group in the UK, the former genteel competitors have become arch rivals.

Royal Bank of Scotland won the NatWest battle, in the process taking possession of the Ulster Bank operation in the Republic and Northern Ireland. Bank of Scotland was already operating in the Irish market with its subsidiary Equity Bank and more recently its telephone mortgage operation. Now the bank has upped the ante with a name change which is a signal of its intent to become a serious competitor in the Irish market. Equity Bank, which reported a 67 per cent rise in pre-tax profits from €7.7 million (£6.1 million) to €12.9 million (£10.1 million), will become Bank of Scotland and expects the new brand to greatly enhance its market share in the future.

However, it will take a lot more than a name change. Though Equity has performed well, Bank of Scotland still has a long way to go in the Irish market before it catches up with its Scottish rival's more broadly-based Ulster Bank.