Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is planning to open branches in just 47 of the 54 locations where it bought ESB outlets earlier this year.

The bank, which is owned by Halifax Bank of Scotland, has also decided to sell on as many as 15 of the 54 ESB branches after completing the deal.

The group is expected to sell on ESB outlets in some locations and then establish new branches in the same area.

Bank of Scotland is likely to outline details of its strategy for the Republic's banking market at the start of next month.

The bank agreed to buy the 54 ESB outlets in March for €120 million. Soon afterwards, it acknowledged that a proportion of the properties would not be suitable for use as bank branches.

A number of the ESB shops are located on the edge of towns in neighbourhoods that Bank of Scotland has decided do not match with its strategy.

Bank of Scotland's purchase of the ESB stores is designed to give the bank a ready-made network across the Republic that will allow it to realise its ambitions in the retail market.

This includes instant access to 185,000 ESB customers who have bought goods from the company on long-term credit. Market commentators were positive on the deal when it was announced.

As well as spending €120 million to buy the ESB branches and loan book, Bank of Scotland has said it will invest €30 million refurbishing and rebranding the outlets. It will also allocate a thus far undisclosed sum to IT, marketing and staff training.

Under the deal, some ESB workers will transfer to Bank of Scotland.

The bank already has about 10,000 customers in the Republic but has so far failed to crack the market share of AIB and Bank of Ireland, largely because of its lack of a high-street presence.