ABN-Amro and solicitors Arthur Cox have been appointed as advisers to the Government on the sale of ICC Bank. Six groups tendered for the advisory position and ABN/-Amro and Arthur Cox were appointed after written submissions and oral presentations from all the applicants. The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said that he would now go ahead with the sale of the bank "on a basis which is satisfactory to all stakeholders in the bank". Prospective buyers will be asked to agree to a number of preconditions, including no compulsory redundancies and the continuation of the employees' existing terms and conditions.

A partnership group has been formed, drawn from members of the ICC board, union representatives and the Department of Finance, and this will be involved in all areas of decision-making on the future ownership of ICC. The Minister for Finance, however, will make the final choice on the criteria to be used to evaluate the bids.