Bank of Ireland has agreed to sell its Bristol & West branch network in Britain for £150m in a move which had been widely expected.
The network of 97 branches is being bought by the Britannia, Britain's second largest building society. Bank of Ireland will retain the Bristol & West brand and mortgage business.
The bank is expected to make a profit of £90m after tax on the sale. Bristol & West, which has around 850,000 customers, lost £400,000 in the year to the end of March.
'The disposal delivers on a key commitment set out by us last November. To sell at a good price to a quality institution, while enhancing the offering to customers and maintaining employment, is good news for everyone,' said BoI chief executive Brian Goggin.
He told RTE radio the sale had 'cleared the decks' for an 'unambiguous' strategy in Britain, where it will now focus on mortgages, business banking and its joint venture with the UK Post Office.
BoI bought Bristol & West for £600m. Mr Goggin said a piece of it had now been sold for £150m, while the rest was worth about £1.5 billion.
BoI shares closed ten cent higher at €12.70 in Dublin this evening.
