The Nat West saga continues and there is the prospect that Ulster Bank, its Irish arm, will be placed on the market in the very near future. The sale would be a bid to raise much-needed funds for the parent to fight off the unwanted advances of Bank of Scotland. The Scottish Bank launched £20b bid for the British bank a couple of weeks ago and, while there has been speculation that another bid will be made, by perhaps Royal Bank of Scotland, none so far has emerged.
On this side of the water, the interest though is in the sale of Ulster Bank. In recent days, several market sources have suggested that a joint bid from Irish Life and Permanent and Bank of Ireland could be made for the bank.
