Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan said he regretted the decison by Bank of Scotland to wind down its operations here.
Speaking in Tokyo today, Mr Honohan said it was a"matter of personal regret" to him that the bank was exiting the market, as he had personal ties to this bank for many years. He said he had been a customer of ICC which was bought by the lender.
However, Mr Honohan said he was not surprised that the bank had chosen to pull out of the market.
"II think Bank of Scotland got into trouble with expansive business in the mortgage market," he said. "It was one of the very strong-going banks in Ireland into the mortgage market and it has been reported that it made very heavy losses."
Bank of Scotland (Ireland), which is owned by Lloyds banking group, said yesterday it would transfer its loan business to the UK by December 31st. Thirty-six jobs will be lost and the remaining 800 employees will transfer to an independent services firm, which will look after the administrative activities related to the Irish business.
The bank had earlier this year closed its Halifax retail branch in the State, with the loss of 750 jobs.
