Opening of Irish bank accounts in Britain soars

THE number of people in Britain opening savings accounts with Irish banks has soared three-fold this week as consumers look for a safe haven for their cash, figures showed today.

Financial website moneysupermarket.com said three times as many people had used its website to “click through” to an Irish bank and open an account during the first three days of this week, compared with the same period of last week.

The group, whose site receives hundreds of thousands of visitors a month, attributed the rush to the recent guarantee made by the Irish government.

Among the banks thought to be benefiting from British savers’ cash are Bank of Ireland, which also owns Bristol & West and backs the Post Office’s financial products, AIB and Anglo Irish Bank.