Bank of Ireland has said the volume of new accounts being opened with the bank has hit record levels in recent weeks as customers move their accounts over from Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland.

The lender said it had seen a spike in account switching among 18 to 24 year-olds with the return of students to colleges and universities and in usage of digital channels.

The announcement comes after the BPFI this week revealed that 434,000 new personal current accounts have been opened with Irish banks to date this year, or an average of 12,400 per week, and 70,000 in the month of August.

Longford, Cavan and Louth are the top three counties for movers to dater in terms of percentage of population, and Ulsters leads in terms of switching activity by province ahead of Connacht and Leinster, with Munster lagging.

Since the start of the year, 27% of new personal current accounts have been opened by 35-39 year-olds, 20% by 25-34 year-olds, 18% by 50-64 year-olds, and 13% by those aged 65+.

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Overall, 42% of customers who moved their account are aged under 35, and Bank of Ireland speculated that customers with more complex banking requirements, who have been with their bank a long time, or who need additional support are waiting to make the switch.

The bank said it would open 61 branches around the country over the next three Saturdays, (8, 15 and 22 October) to further support customers intending to move current accounts. It will also waive its standard overdraft facility fee of €30 in the first year for customers moving accounts.

Susan Russell, director of retail banking at Bank of Ireland said: “We have had record current account opening volumes in recent weeks. During September, there has also been a 13% increase in customers using our digital channels for personal current accounts when compared to August.

“We also appreciate that certain customers may prefer face to face support and have not yet had the chance to visit a branch during the week. By opening 61 of our branches on Saturday 8, 15 and 22 of October customers can get advice in person, or open an account with us there and then”.   

“While Ulster Bank has extended the first account closures deadline to the start of November, we would encourage customers not to wait so that they have enough time to make all the related changes to their accounts, including setting up Direct Debits from the new accounts with utilities and services.”

The state last month sold down its remaining stake Bank of Ireland, 13 years after bailing out the lender following the property crash. The state bailed Bank of Ireland out with €4.7bn from 2009 to 2011 and has garnered €6.7bn in return.

The Central Bank last week fined Bank of Ireland €100.5m for “significant and long-running failings” in respect of tracker mortgage customer accounts.

(Pic: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie)