Fortis and An Post partnership will create 100 new jobs

The €112 million banking service joint venture between the international financial services group Fortis and An Post will begin to offer savings and investment products to the public by mid-year and will create 100 new jobs by the end of 2007, the partners said in an update today.

The operation, which is subject to the granting of a banking licence by the Irish Financial Services Regulator, will initially offer these products from a selection of post offices. The service will be rolled out across the Post Office network over the next 12 months. The initial savings and investment products will be followed in the autumn by a broader range of banking products including Internet banking and ATM facilities.

Commenting today, Margaret Sweeney, Chief Executive of the joint venture said: "Plans for the development of the new retail bank are progressing well. We expect to have an initial presence in a cross section of post offices by June and to complete the installation of our services network over the next 12 months. While our presence will vary among Post Offices depending on the facilities available, our target is to be represented in more than 200 Post offices initially and to extend across the post office network over the following 12 months."