Anglo merger with Irish Nationwide creates IBRC

THE assets and liabilities of Irish Nationwide Building Society have been transferred to Anglo Irish Bank Corporation, signalling the end of an era in Irish banking.

In effect, this means that €2.9 billion of Irish Nationwide mortgages have now been acquired by Anglo, involving about 15,000 mortgages.

The merged entity will be known as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), once the paper work has been finalised.

Irish Nationwide said mortgage customers will continue to operate under the same terms and conditions as before.

This latest move in cleaning up the Irish banks is part of the Government’s plan to wind down the failed banks over time.

Irish Nationwide stressed that no action was needed by customers as a result of this latest development.

Customers wanting to learn more can do so online at www.angloirish bank.com. Mortgage customers will continue to have the same payment obligations in line with existing terms and conditions, and mortgage accounts will transfer with existing terms and conditions.

All property held by Irish Nationwide is also included as part of the transfer. Separately, there is a property asset management strategy in place to maximise the value of the property portfolio for the tax payer.

Irish Nationwide employees automatically transfer to the employment of Anglo with immediate effect. This follows an information and consultation process with staff and union representatives.

A spokesman for the society said the remaining 217 staff will transfer to the new bank and the borrowings mainly on assets transferred to NAMA some time back.

They stood at €8.9bn initially but the spokesman said the portfolio may now be less than that given that some assets may have been sold off.

Commercial loans worth about €600m are also involved in the transfer, he said. Customers should continue their transactions using the normal contact points.

Commenting on the transfer of the business, INBS chief executive Gerry McGinn said: “Today’s seamless transfer is the culmination of many months hard work by the employees at Irish Nationwide as we prepared the Society for work out. We look forward to continuing to work in the new merged entity with our colleagues in Anglo Irish Bank as together we manage the orderly work out of the business under the auspices of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.”