Jobs boost for Kildare as bank with 2 branches in the county opt to stay in Ireland

Fears have been eased in regards to the future of KBC Bank after they released a statement saying that they would be remaining in Ireland.

The Belgian-owned bank conducted a review of their Irish activities towards the end of last year, meaning that more than 1,000 people were fearful that their jobs might be culled if KBC were to pull out of Ireland.

After tax profits of €227 million were recorded in a 2016 however, a huge increase on the €75 million profits of the previous year. The bank have also reported that they are continuing to reduce their mortgage arrears cases and that around 20,000 new customers signed up with them in the final quarter of last year.

KBC have branches in both Maynooth and Naas, part of their 15 branches nationwide.

“Today’s announcement is fantastic news for KBC customers and staff, and will result in more competition in Irish banking and better choice for customers. KBC has been here for over 40 years, we’ve invested heavily through the recent challenging period, built a strong and compelling retail bank, and are looking forward to becoming the main challenger bank here,” said Wim Verbraeken, Chief Executive of KBC Bank Ireland