Large-scale job losses are not planned if Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) succeeds in acquiring First Active, RBS's chief executive, Mr Fred Goodwin, said today.
Speaking in Dublin today, Mr Goodwin said First Active customers were unlikely to notice any changes in their branches following the takeover as any rationalisation is more likely to take place in back-office operations.
RBS, Britain's second-biggest bank, has agreed a €887 million deal for First Active - the former building society turned retail bank. As RBS already owns Ulster Bank, today's deal would form a third force in the Irish banking market, which has been dominated by Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Banks.
First Active shares soared almost 32 per cent today on news that First Active has recommended acceptance of the cash bid worth €6.20 for the mortgage lender. The offer equates to a 33 per cent premium on First Active's closing share price on Friday of €4.65.
Mr Goodwin said the reasoning behind proposed acquisition of First Active was driven by the growth opportunities still apparent in the Irish mortgage market rather than cost savings. First Active and Ulster Bank have a combined market share in excess of 15 per cent of the Irish home loan market.
Though the searing rate of growth in the Irish property market is bound to moderate in the medium term, Mr Goodwin said the Irish mortgage market remained fundamentally sound with no sense of an imminent collapse.
Acceptance of the deal will hinge on the views of institutional shareholders, but Mr Goodwin said the deal should not represent a "hard sell" given the terms of the deal and potental growth opportunities.