rembrandt, page-9

nib / irish banks Hi Peter,

I also found this article posted on the NYSE from a Dow Jones News Wire, it's dated early in the week but gives an indication that the Irish Bank sales are still an issue being considered.

Irish Union Airs Fears Over Natl Australia Bank Units
9/06/04 11:45pm

DUBLIN (Dow Jones)--Ireland's banking union said Monday it'll write to the Irish Competition Authority and European Commission expressing concern over the prospective sell-off of National Australia Bank Ltd.'s (NAB) two Irish units.

The Irish Bank Officials Association, or IBOA, said its members "are extremely concerned and frustrated at the lack of certainty about the future ownership and direction of National Irish Bank and Northern Bank."

NAB is currently deciding whether to sell Northern Bank and National Irish Bank, or NIB, with Irish Life & Permanent PLC (IPM.DB) last week expressing interest in the latter.

The IBOA said it'll write to Irish Competition Authority Chairman John Fingelton, E.U. Competition Commissioner Mario Monti and U.K. Office of Fair Trading Chairman John Vickers to express concern over their possible sale.

IBOA spokesman Marty Whelan told Dow Jones Newswires that the union, which represents around 20,000 bank workers, would like these bodies to consider how a bid for the Irish units would impact "jobs, terms and conditions and branch closures."

NIB was heavily criticized in a six-year report by the Irish High Court released last July, detailing tax-evasion schemes in place from 1988 to 1998. The bank has just 3% of the market in the Republic of Ireland, while Northern Bank has 30% of the Northern Ireland market.

Last week, IL&P chief executive David Went hinted his interest in NIB. "We've been following what's been happening with interest," he said. "There are not so many buses on the Irish financial services' bus route that we can just let them go by."

However, Goodbody Stockbrokers analyst Eamon Hughes believes interest in NIB may also come from the U.K. "We suspect that HBOS PLC (HBOS.LN) could consider buying NIB and taking on the Irish retail market," Hughes said.

"Any sale of NIB will be a fair gauge of HBOS's aspirations this side of the Irish Sea." Hughes added that any successful bid by HBOS for its U.K. rival Abbey National PLC (ANBA) "could remove a likely bidder" for IL&P.

HBOS was rumored to be this week preparing a GBP10 million offer for Abbey National, countering a bid already on the table from Spanish financial group Banco Santander Central Hispano SA (STD). That would rule out HBOS bidding in Ireland.

NAB's U.K. operations include Clydesdale Bank in Scotland and Yorkshire Bank in northern England. NAB's board is expected to await the outcome of a strategic review, due to be completed later this month, before deciding on the fate of the Irish banks.

Ireland's Davy Stockbrokers said Northern Bank and NIB could be sold with a price tag of over EUR1.4 billion, while Citigroup has said the sale of both banks would be warmly received by the investment community.

Royal Bank of Scotland PLC (RBS.LN), which already owns Ulster Bank, might also be eager to acquire NIB, while Bank of Ireland PLC (IRE) could eye Northern Bank, analysts say.

-By Quentin Fottrell, Dow Jones Newswires; 3531-676-2189; quentin.fottrell@ dowjones.com