Overseas investment funds such as Cerberus and Lone Star, which have been among the most aggressive buyers of distressed loans in Ireland and Europe in recent years, are also known to be circling the Ulster Bank loan book. Ulster Bank in the Republic has 2,800 employees, and while NatWest remains committed to Ulster Bank Northern Ireland, a number of its employees support the operation south of the Border. Since then, Ulster Bank’s loan book has been shrunk by more than half as the lender sold off problem loans and borrowers repaid debt at a faster rate than taking on fresh credit. Ulster Bank has about a 15 per cent share of the mortgage market, 20 per cent of small business (SME) lending and a strong corporate banking business. This makes its exit much more significant than any of the other overseas banks, including Bank of Scotland and Danske Bank, that exited the Irish retail banking market since the financial crash.

Source: The Irish Times February 17, 2021 21:10 UTC