ACC Bank is to close its standard banking operations in Ireland with the loss of 180 jobs.

The Irish subsidiary of the Dutch Rabobank announced this morning that it would be withdrawing provision of banking products such as deposit and current accounts, to focus solely on debt recovery.

The bank, which posted pre-tax losses of €219 million last year, will close all its business centres to the public and give up its banking licence in 2014, it said in a statement.

Customers whose funds are deposited in the bank will be repaid in full, and the company’s other Irish operations, Rabobank Ireland PLC and RaboDirect, will not be affected, it said.

The bank's country manager Kevin Knightly said ACC Bank had incurred significant losses since 2008 as a result of a deteriorating property market in Ireland, which had left the bank in an "unsustainable position".

“While costs have been cut significantly, including a substantial restructuring programme in 2009, we are heading towards a situation where, without intervention, our costs will exceed our income during 2014,” he said.

“We will continue with our approach to loan recovery but do not need to be a fully licensed bank for this purpose.”

A cost-reduction programme will also be undertaken as part of the restructuring, involving a voluntary redundancy scheme for 180 of the company’s 470 Irish employees.

ACC Bank is exploring the possibility of outsourcing a small portion of its loan book, excluding agricultural loans, the statement said.

Customers will be informed in writing of the changes.