The following list of banks in the Republic of Ireland is to be understood within the framework of the European single market and European banking union, which means that the Republic of Ireland's banking system is more open to cross-border banking operations than peers outside of the EU.
Policy framework
European banking supervision distinguishes between significant institutions (SIs) and less significant institutions (LSIs), with SI/LSI designations updated regularly by the European Central Bank (ECB). Significant institutions are directly supervised by the ECB using joint supervisory teams that involve the national competent authorities (NCAs) of individual participating countries. Less significant institutions are supervised by the relevant NCA on a day-to-day basis, under the supervisory oversight of the ECB.[1] In Ireland's case, the NCA is the Central Bank of Ireland.[2]
Significant institutions
As of 2025-9-1, the list of supervised institutions maintained by the ECB included the following five Irish banking groups as SIs, with names as indicated by the ECB for each group's consolidating entity:[3]
A study published in 2024 suggested that as of end-2023, Bank of Ireland had the most assets located in the Republic of Ireland (€156 billion) followed by Barclays (€143 billion), Citibank Europe (€139 billion), AIB (€125 billion), and Bank of America Europe (€68 billion).[5] In addition, Intesa Sanpaolo operates in Ireland via a subsidiary, whereas other euro-area SIs operate via branches. Conversely, the consolidated entity of Bank of Cyprus, a Cypriot SI, is an Irish public limited company, Bank of Cyprus Holdings plc.[3]
Less significant institutions
As of 2025-9-1, the ECB's list of supervised institutions included 15 Irish LSIs.[3]
High-impact LSIs
Of these, the following three were designated by the ECB as "high-impact" on the basis of several criteria including size:
- Macquarie Bank Europe Designated Activity Company (Macquarie Group)
- permanent tsb Group Holdings plc, holding entity of permanent tsb plc (see below, other LSIs)
- Wells Fargo Bank International Unlimited Company (Wells Fargo Group)
Other Irish LSIs
Credit unions
The Republic of Ireland is one of six euro-area countries with credit unions, together with Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Netherlands. Irish credit unions are small cooperative credit institutions outside the scope of the EU Capital Requirements Directives,[6] and thus regulated and supervised under national law. At end-2023, there were 276 such Irish credit unions with total assets of ca. €24 billion (US$26 billion).[7] Their umbrella organization is the Irish League of Credit Unions.
Other credit institutions
Several other Irish credit institutions do not hold a banking license under EU law. These include the Central Bank of Ireland and Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, both of which are public credit institutions.[6] The Republic of Ireland is also the home of several building societies, such as EBS d.a.c..
Defunct banks
A number of former Irish banks, defined as having been based in the present-day territory of the Republic of Ireland, are documented on Wikipedia. They are listed below in chronological order of establishment. Several came to an end in the wake of the post-2008 Irish banking crisis, which also saw the short-lived establishment of the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (2011-2013).
- Newcomen Bank (1722-1825)
- National Irish Bank (1809-2012)
- Guinness Mahon (1836-1998)
- Ulster Bank (1836-2025)
- First Active (1861-2009)
- Irish Nationwide Building Society (1873-2011)
- Sinn Féin Bank (1908-1921)
- Depfa Bank (1922-2022)
- Agricultural Credit Corporation
See also
- List of banks in the euro area
- List of banks in Europe
References
- What are less significant institutions? European Central Bank, 2024-8-2^
- Members and Observers European Banking Authority, retrieved 2025-11-19^
- List of supervised entities - Cut-off date for changes in group structures: 1 September 2025