DOCUMENTS and computer print outs containing the names, addresses and account numbers of Ulster Bank customers were scattered around Dublin city centre after being mistaken for ordinary rubbish.
The papers were carried across College Green and D'Olier Street on Tuesday morning after being blown off a bin lorry in high winds.
The computer print outs contained lists of customers' names, addresses, ages and account numbers.
There are also coded references under headings of account type, class code, status, tenancy and occupation.
Several of the names on the list are of prominent professional figures in Dublin.
There are also references to several foreign nationals including people living in Switzerland and the Middle East.
The lists, under the title "Ulgen Management Information System, Customer Information details as of August 2, 1995" were said by the bank to have come from its marketing department.
A spokesman for the bank said yesterday that the paperwork was wrongly placed in an ordinary black PVC rubbish bag instead of another coloured bag which would have indicated that it contained sensitive documents and should be kept secure for shredding.
The bank contracts its shredding work to a private security firm which collects the coloured bags from the College Green headquarters.
However, the spokesman said the bag had been removed with the ordinary refuse and had apparently blown off the lorry
He said the bank was alerted to the situation quickly and staff were sent out to collect as many of the documents as possible.
The spokesman requested that none of the private information contained in the paperwork be publicised and said an employee was facing disciplinary action.