Dutch bank offers Irish consumers online products

Dutch financial institution Rabobank is offering competitive savings accounts and investment funds online following the launch yesterday of RaboDirect.ie.

Marketing its Irish internet operation as a "straight talking" bank, the Rabobank group is promising to bring consumers better interest rates and cheaper fees in a secure online environment.

RaboDirect's flagship product is an instant access deposit account with a variable interest rate of 3 per cent. Greg McAweeney, general manager of RaboDirect, said this was 10 times the average rate offered on deposit accounts in the Republic.

Claiming to eschew all the catches and gimmicks associated with typical banks, Rabobank said there would no minimum or maximum deposits required, no hidden fees or charges and no confusing introductory offers.

RaboDirect is also offering term deposit accounts at fixed interest rates and execution-only investment products managed by Merrill Lynch and Robeco. On these funds, there is a minimum investment sum of €100 required and a 0.75 per cent charge on entry and exit.

The bank aims to capture some of the money that will flood the market following the maturity of over 1.1 million Special Savings Investment Accounts in 2006 and 2007. However, it also hopes to attract 10,000 customers by the end of this year.

As a purely online bank free of the overheads of a branch network, RaboDirect said its low cost base would allow it to offer consistently high rates.

Although it will have a contact centre based in Dublin, its back office support will be shared with the Rabobank group's Belgian online bank, Rabobank.be, and will be based in Antwerp.

Ralf Dekker, a Rabobank International board member, said RaboDirect would eventually offer personal lending and mortgage products to Irish customers. It has no immediate plans to launch a current account.

The privately owned Rabobank, which has a credit rating of AAA, already has a presence here through its business arm ACC Bank, which it bought in 2002.