RaboDirect closure prompts review call

The Central Bank should urge RaboDirect to consider extending its notice period beyond May because of the unprecedented effects its decision to shut a €3bn savings operation will have on its 90,000 Irish customers, consumer and financial experts have warned.

The online savings bank set up shop in Ireland almost 13 years ago. It has shocked financial advisers by saying it will close on May 16, so its 90,000 customers face a scramble to set up new savings accounts with the small number of rivals that survived the financial crisis.

The closure of a eurozone savings bank after the crisis is unusual, though Rabo- Direct is acting within the Central Bank Consumer Code which allows a lender to give customers “at least” two months’ closure notice.