The most profitable and fastest growing segment of Ulster Bank's loan book is to the small and medium-sized business sector, according to the information memorandum circulated to prospective bidders for the bank.

In it, Ulster states that 25 per cent of its loan book, or £1.5 billion sterling (#2.4 billion), is to small businesses in the manufacturing, retail and hotel and restaurant sectors.

The memo, which was seen by The Irish Times, shows 13 per cent of its total lending is in mortgages, 7 per cent in leasing, 8 per cent in instalment credit, 12 per cent in personal lending and 6 per cent from its Lombard & Ulster subsidiary.

Ulster Bank claims to have a 13 per cent share of the Republic's small business market and 29 per cent in Northern Ireland, which it states is its most profitable segment.

The bank has 234 branches - 130 in the Republic and 104 in Northern Ireland - with 60 per cent of group profits generated in the Republic.

In Northern Ireland, Ulster Bank has the leading share of the credit card market, with around 20 per cent and 95,000 accounts. In the Republic the bank's share is around 5 per cent (55,000 accounts). The group has 256 properties, of which 170 are owned with the remainder leased. At the end of December 1998 the book value of Ulster Bank's freehold and long leasehold property was £53 million sterling, based on a 1996 valuation. That valuation is now being reviewed. Ulster Bank's parent, NatWest is selling the bank to raise funds to defend itself from a hostile takeover by either Bank of Scotland or Royal Bank of Scotland. It is still evaluating indicative offers and will draw up a shortlist before proceeding to the final stage of the sale process.

Last week, however, Ulster Bank put its Ulster Bank Investment Management (UBIM) subsidiary up for sale.

Industry sources have suggested this reflects the particularly strong interest shown by some prospective bidders for that side of the bank's business. UBIM is one of the leading fund management groups in the Republic and currently manages assets of £4.4 billion (#5.59 billion).