Bank of Ireland is planning raise up to €500m on the bond market, with the fund-raising likely to proceed tomorrow.
The development is seen a significant because, since the economic crash, most borrowing done on the bond markets by Irish banks has been backed with collateral.
However the Bank of Ireland bond will be unsecured and therefore not backed with collateral.
If the fund-raising is successful it would be seen as a vote of confidence for the bank.
It is likely the lender would try to raise between €250m and €500m, according to Danske Bank's senior trader Owen Callen.
Bank of Ireland has hired BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and RBS to sound out demand for the bond.
The bank has not said how much money it expects to raise or what interest rate will be paid to investors.
