British bank’s Irish operations thrive

BRITISH bank Northern Rock has reported its highest half-yearly performance in the Irish market, since establishing a presence here seven years ago.

Irish savers deposited €445 million of new funds with the bank since last December. New savings balances grew 30% to €1.94 billion in the first half of this year.

The rise in popularity of online accounts was seen as a key driver in the company’s balance growth here and it is understood one-in-three of its Irish customers have an online account.