Bank of Ireland shares climb 4.5% as watchdog rules on KBC mortgages deal    

Shares in Bank of Ireland climbed 4.5% as investors hailed a ruling from the competition watchdog which was seen as setting few new stringent conditions as the lender prepares to take €9bn in mortgage loans from KBC Bank. 

The decisions last year by KBC, along with Ulster Bank, to close their doors caused shockwaves and raised huge concerns that competition in Ireland's concentrated banking market would be further diminished after Bank of Ireland, AIB, and Permanent TSB scrambled to acquire the loans books of the departing banks.