Surprise as Rabo shuts ACC

Farmer groups have raised concerns about the closure of ACC’s retail bank with the loss of 180 jobs.

In a move that caught the market by surprise, ACC announced it would shut all deposit and current account services during 2014, which will affect 5,000 customers with €110m on deposit. It will also relinquish its banking licence.

The 86-year-old, formerly state-owned bank, which was privatised in the early 1990s and taken over by the AAA-rated Dutch firm Rabobank in 2002, said it would keep open Rabobank Ireland PLC, which focuses on lending to the agri-sector.