It has been confirmed that part of the MBNA business in Carrick-on-Shannon has been sold as a going concern to a subsidiary of private equity firm Apollo Global Management.
The section concerned serves the Irish market and currently employs 250 people.
It is being sold by Bank of America to Apollo European Principal Finance Fund 1 (EPF), a fund affiliated with Apollo Global Management.
Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Minister Richard Bruton welcomed the announcement, saying 250 of the 650 jobs based in County Leitrim had been secured. He also welcomed the news that the UK operations served by the Carrick facility, which employs the remaining 400 people, are continuing as a going concern, as part of the UK business.
Bank of America said last year that it was getting out of the credit card business in Ireland and the UK. Today it described its agreement to sell its consumer credit card service for the Irish market as a positive outcome for the business.
Ian O'Doherty, Europe Card Executive for Bank of America said that he expects the transaction with Apollo EPF to close in the first half of 2013 subject to regulatory approval.
He said the company is now working through all the operational requirements needed to ensure this transition is as seamless as possible for 'our customers and for our staff working in Carrick-on-Shannon'.
The business includes more than 200,000 consumer accounts with a balance of over €650m, according to Apollo, which says that these accounts will continue to be managed by about 250 people in Carrick-on-Shannon. The terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, have not been disclosed.
