Bank of Ireland has had a presence in Manhattan, New York, since 1976. The €1.2 billion US leverage acquisition finance loan book, the subject of a spike in loan losses in recent years, is expected to run down over the next three years, managed out of Dublin. In 1998, Bank of Ireland sold the 23.5 per cent Citizens stake it had received under the tie-up. The US leverage finance business was set up in 2002 to specialise in arranging, underwriting and distributing debt facilities for mid-market company acquisitions. Bank of Ireland said in its 2024 annual report that specific corporate defaults in the US acquisition finance portfolio drove a €127 million group loan loss charge that year.

Source: The Irish Times March 17, 2026 18:01 UTC