Six in 10 (62%) current and deposit accounts with Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland that were open at the start of the year remained open at the end of October, Central Bank figures show.

A total of 800,325 accounts, the majority of them current accounts (579,443), were opened with the remaining three retail banks during the first 10 months of year, approximately double the number of accounts opened with Irish banks in the previous three years.

Close to 85,000 current and deposit accounts were closed by Ulster Bank and KBC customers in October, a 15% increase compared to the previous month, bringing the number of accounts closed with the lender this year to 464,997.

Some 234,098 were current accounts, and 230,900 were deposit accounts, equating to 38% of accounts held with the bank at the start of the year.

Of the 447,733 current accounts that remain open, 341,184 were deemed by the exiting banks to be active accounts, and 247,116 were deemed as customers’ primary account.

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The pace at which new accounts are opened with AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB has slowed in recent weeks though, with 82,213 accounts opened in October, 13,197 or 14% lower than in September.

Of the total new accounts opened since January, 58% were opened online, while the remainder were opened in a branch.

The average waiting time for a branch appointment was six and a half working days at end-October. This has fallen from an average of nearly 10 days in early August.

“The forced migration of such a large volume of customer accounts is unprecedented in the Irish market, and has required an unprecedented response by banks and other financial service providers and commercial entities to ensure that it is managed properly for the customers affected, who have not chosen to be in this position," said Colm Kincaid, director of consumer protection at the Central Bank.

“The continued progress shown in the data we are publishing today is encouraging as we enter the next part of the exercise with the departing banks commencing their process of closing accounts on a phased basis.

"This account closing exercise is one we have and will continue to scrutinise very closely, as we have scrutinised each phase of the withdrawal, to ensure the clear expectations that we have set are being met. This includes in particular ensuring that no customer account is closed until all and every reasonable measure has been taken to ensure that the customer has been enabled to switch.

“We understand that for many people, switching their account may not be a priority in the run up to Christmas, but we continue to encourage people to take action sooner rather than later to ensure they move their banking arrangements to retain the level of banking service they need."

Ulster Bank confirmed this week that it will begin freezing accounts from today (11 November), prioritising accounts that were given six months' notice in April or May and believed to be inactive.