BANK OF Ireland is on the move to its new head office, but just where is it moving to? The good people in the bank’s corporate communications department sent us on their new telephone contacts yesterday, which have the 076 prefix. Had the bank moved to the northwest?
It turns out that the bank’s new telephone operations service is provided by a VOIP operator, or voice over IP, where calls are sent over the internet. This is a more efficient use of infrastructure and is likely to save money.
Given that the bank last week posted a loss of €1.8 billion for 2009, chief executive Richie Boucher will look for savings wherever he can. This week, he came up with a plan to halve the bank’s €1.6 billion pension deficit.
However, the cost savings have not forced the bank to leave the Pale. The bank has moved head office to the former offices of Bank of Ireland Private Banking on Mespil Road, no more than a canal bridge away from Irish Nationwide’s head office.
This also puts the bank within spitting distance of Mike Soden, the bank’s outspoken former chief who lives a few doors up, overlooking the Grand Canal. Can we expect canal bank walks with Soden and Boucher ruminating on the future of Irish banking?
