Halifax (Ireland)

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Limited

Former type	Subsidiary
Industry	Financial services
Fate	Ceased trading
Founded	1965 (as Equity Bank Limited)
Defunct	31 December 2010
Headquarters	Dublin, Ireland
Area served	Ireland
Key people	Joe Higgins (CEO)
Products	Various banking products aimed at the business and retail sector
Number of employees	750 (2010)
Parent	Bank of Scotland plc

Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Limited was a bank based in Ireland and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Scotland, itself a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. It offered commercial and corporate banking services under the Bank of Scotland brand and retail banking services under the Halifax brand. Since 10 February 2010 the bank has no longer accepted new business, and ceased to operate as a licensed bank on 31 December 2010. The assets of the bank were merged into Bank of Scotland plc.

The company was founded in 1965 as Equity Bank Limited. In 1999 it was purchased by the Bank of Scotland. Later, the parent company established its own brand in the Irish market through the direct sales of mortgages from Edinburgh. Following this, it was decided to rebrand the existing Irish operation as Bank of Scotland (Ireland) in 2000.

In 2001, the bank purchased ICC Bank plc from the Irish State. This company, originally established as the Industrial Credit Company, and later known as Industrial Credit Corporation plc, was set up in 1933 by Seán Lemass in the Irish Free State to encourage investment in industry. The company was modelled on the Agricultural Credit Corporation (now called ACCBank).

In 2004, the company took over the direct mortgage sales business from its parent company, and moved it to Dublin. Major new offices were also opened in a brand new building in Limerick, named "Bank of Scotland House" (formerly the site of the Carlton Cinema).

In 2005, the company announced that it was taking over the Electricity Supply Board's ShopElectric chain of retail outlets, and turn them into a network of branches. This made the company the fourth-largest bank in Ireland, with 46 branches. The company detailed its retail banking plans on 10 January 2006, the first three branches opened the following day, as well as a call centre in Dundalk, County Louth. This put it in direct competition with Permanent TSB as well as National Irish Bank, the smallest of the traditional Big Four. The banks became the first Irish bank to open on Saturday as standard.