Moneylenders return to the temple

Why did the bankers cross the road? Because Mammon has moved back closer to God.

Once upon a time, what banks such as AIB decided was considered gospel. Now, after a spectacular fall from grace, Cork’s bankers are moving to offices above the city’s 100-member strong Gospel Hall — sort of a return of the moneylenders to the temple.

The epicentre of Cork City’s commercial life, the AIB bank branch at 66 South Mall, took a shift on its axis yesterday afternoon as the branch’s business banking staff were decanted from the AIB mothership branch to a new office building across the mall. They moved to offices built three years ago on Fr Mathew St, in a building that houses a new gospel hall as well as a deep baptismal immersion tank on its ground floor.

The low-key move of several dozen staff from AIB’s business banking section came about after a costly fit-out was finished on the upper floors of the €10m building — funded by AIB — at 18, 19, and 20 Fr Mathew St.

It’s next door to the Capuchin order’s Holy Trinity Church where, conveniently, confessionals are still to hand.

Sources say that AIB needed additional space for its South Mall activities given the numbers of staff now involved in Nama and other post-crash work.