The Board of PTSB is hoping to find a new owner who can help it achieve the scale and provide the investment it needs to compete more effectively against its larger rivals.
Ireland’s banking landscape could soon be in for another major shake-up.
The country’s third-largest bank has announced that it’s exploring a potential sale, in a move that could significantly alter the balance of competition in the Irish financial sector.
It's the latest twist in an industry that’s already seen huge upheaval in recent years following the exits of Ulster Bank and KBC.
Is this a surprise?
Not really.
PTSB is a small player in a small market that's dominated by AIB and Bank of Ireland, and there have long been questions around its long-term viability.
Although it has just under a 20% share of the Irish mortgage, its share of the personal loans, credit card, and business banking sectors is much smaller.
And although it worked hard to return to profit following the financial crash — which saw it require a €4 billion bailout by the Irish taxpayer in 2011 — it has struggled to generate the level of returns that would enable it to compete more aggressively with its larger rivals.
Profits at AIB and Bank of Ireland have surpassed €2 billion in recent years whereas profits at PTSB were just €180 million last year. And in a recent update for the first half of 2025, PTSB saw its profit sink by 75% to just €19 million.
But the bank has a strong brand, is well capitalised, has a good branch network, and operates in a growing economy, so it has a lot of positives going for it so PTSB now wants to find a buyer who can help it achieve its full potential.
Who might buy PTSB?
At this stage we don’t know.
The bank could be bought by a private equity fund, a large traditional European bank like Santander or HSBC, a fintech, or an existing bank in Ireland such as Avant Money or MoCo.
Avant Money, which is owned by the large Spanish bank Bankinter, has been expanding its presence in Ireland in recent years. It started offering mortgages here in 2020, and in April it became a fully licensed bank. And it will launch a new savings and deposit product over the coming weeks.
MoCo is owned by Austrian lender Bawag.
If Avant, and to a lesser extent MoCo, were to make a move for PTSB, this would lead to a bigger and stronger third banking provider in Ireland. But it would also reduce the number of banks operating here, which wouldn’t be ideal from a competition point of view either.
So the best outcome for consumers is for a new (likely European) bank to make an offer to compete better with AIB and Bank of Ireland and increasingly Avant Money. Most would agree that a private equity fund buying PTSB wouldn't be in the best longer-term interests of the bank.
There is also the possibility that PTSB won’t find a buyer. In which case the bank will simply continue with its current strategy. But it’s unlikely the Board of PTSB would have publicly put the bank up for sale if it didn't think there was some interest.
Caution
However, there are reasons why potential buyers might hesitate.
Although the Irish economy is performing well, employment is strong, and the two main banks are making big profits, foreign banks will still be cautious about entering Ireland. As the experience of many banks here over the past 15 years hasn't been great.
Bank of Scotland/Halifax, Danske Bank (formerly National Irish Bank) and Rabobank (which owned ACC) all pulled out of the Irish retail market while Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide Building Society both collapsed. And EBS was folded into AIB.
And of course Ulster Bank, the country’s third biggest lender at the time, announced its shock exit from the Republic in 2021, swiftly followed by KBC a few weeks later.
Many of the banks were left nursing big losses when they exited.
So foreign banks will be slightly wary of making a move for PTSB, which may limit the number of offers it receives.
Will this be good for competition?
Overall, yes.
The small size of PTSB has meant that it has struggled to compete aggressively with its larger rivals — particularly since the financial crash.
A new buyer should be able to invest in the bank and enable it to compete better against AIB and Bank of Ireland in particular. It should be able to offer lower rates, better services, more innovative products, and better digital banking capabilities than PTSB can at present.
But it will depend on who buys the bank. A private equity fund or a small foreign bank is unlikely to invest in PTSB in the same way a large European bank will.
What is the impact on customers?
The sale process will likely take over a year to complete, so there’s no need for customers to take any action right now.
If a new buyer is found, those on fixed mortgage rates won’t see any change to their rate or repayments. And there may be little impact on other customers.
The PTSB brand may or may not continue. If it doesn’t, then customers likely be issued with new debit and credit cards in due course. But this is all a long way away, and rest assured bonkers.ie will keep you updated on all you need to know over the coming months.
