Banking

Peter O’Dwyer: PTSB and AIB stake their claims in the redrawn landscape of Irish banking

With Ulster Bank and KBC exiting Ireland, Permanent TSB still has a long way to go to close the gap on AIB, and Bank of Ireland, as it looks to grow into a third pillar bank

Eamonn Crowley, Permanent TSB chief executive: ‘We are very well-positioned as one of three banks in the market to provide an alternative to customers.’ Picture: Fergal Phillips

Eamonn Crowley, the Permanent TSB chief executive, took to the podium on the first floor of the bank’s impressive boardroom at its St Stephen’s Green office in Dublin last Wednesday with a story to tell.

PTSB is by far the smallest of what will be the three traditional retail banks left in the Irish market once Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland complete their departures. For much of the last decade, such was the extent ...