Bank of Ireland plan to cut 1,400 jobs leads to call for Government intervention            

20/04/2018 Group CEO Francesca McDonagh during Bank of Irelands AGM at the O'Reilly Hall, UCD, Dublin. Photo Gareth Chaney Collins

A Bank of Ireland plan to cut 1,400 jobs to curtail costs has led to a trade union call for Taoiseach Micheál Martin to intervene amid fears the lender also plans to close branches.

The surprise announcement comes as the bank posted a loss of €669m in the first six months of the year, after chalking up €937m in credit impairments for the costs so far of the Covid-19 hit on loans to households, corporates, and small firms.