Bank of Ireland outlines plans for UK expansion

Bank of Ireland is aiming to be a "leading challenger" to UK banks Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays, as it steps up the range of services it offers through the Post Office network.

BOI already has a significant presence in the UK, as it is the exclusive long-term provider of financial services to the Post Office through more than 11,000 branches across the country, yielding 2.7 million customers. The partnership marks its 10th anniversary this year, and has been extended to 2023.

In an interview in The Sunday Telegraph , Des Crowley, chief executive of Bank of Ireland UK, said that the bank hopes to position itself as a challenger to the UK's leading banks.

“We want to be their leading challenger, providing simple, transparent, accessible products to consumers right across Great Britain as an alternative to the high street banks. Twenty million potential customers walk through the doors of the Post Office every week. Our role is to work with our Post Office colleagues to make sure we attract a good selection of those customers,” he said.

The bank is already trialling a current account trial in East Anglia, and the bank hopes to offer a range of three accounts to customers in the near future, allowing them to do most of their banking through their local Post Office branch.

BOI also hopes to grow its share of the UK mortgage market, and will introduce financial advisors to certain Post Office branches.

However, Mr Crowley told the newspaper that the bank will not be chasing risks.

“We have a philosophy of ‘clean credit’. We are very anxious to give money to people who are self-employed first-time buyers, but one of our requirements is that you have a clean credit history for the past three years. We have never gone into sub-prime, or near-prime, that was never part of the DNA of the bank.”