Bank of Ireland Officially Opens its Grand Canal Square Branch and Start-up Workbench, 100 New Jobs in its Branch Network

BANK OF IRELAND OFFICIALLY OPENS ITS GRAND CANAL SQUARE BRANCH AND START-UP WORKBENCH

100 NEW JOBS IN ITS BRANCH NETWORK

Pictured at the official opening of Bank of Ireland’s new branch at Grand Canal Square is Simon Harris TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for International Financial Services, David Tighe, Head of Innovation at Bank of Ireland with Tracy Keogh from Deposify, one of the start-ups that use the new branch as a base for their business.

Simon Harris TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for International Financial Services, was today (28th April 2015) in Bank of Ireland’s new branch and start-up workbench in Grand Canal Square, to meet some of the many start-ups using the new branch as a base. At this event Bank of Ireland also announced its recruitment of 100 customer champions for its network. The Branch opening expands Bank of Ireland’s footprint across Ireland (ROI and NI) to 286, making Bank of Ireland’s presence in those communities the largest in Ireland.

The new branch offers state of the art banking and workspace facilities including a 60 seater auditorium, lounge, digital bank and a dedicated bespoke workbench zone, complete with hotdesks, interactive screens and complementary wifi and coffee. Since becoming operational it has fast become a base-of-choice for numerous Irish and international start-ups, benefitting from access to branch facilities for meetings, events, presentations and as an antidote to the office.

Bank of Ireland continues to support the start-up sector through a multiplicity of events including; mentorship programmes, meet-ups, weekends and hackathons, in addition to its sponsorship of key initiatives such as Start Up Weekend Dublin and Limerick and the inaugural Start Up Gathering taking place across Ireland in October (5th -10th 2015).

Bank of Ireland has begun recruiting for 100 new jobs across its branch network. The new recruits will fulfil the role of Customer Champions, supporting customers in their online and mobile banking as well as day to day branch services.

Speaking at the official opening of Grand Canal Square, Minster Harris said “this branch and 100 posts reflect a commitment to a new form of enabling workspace, one key to the continued expansion and deepening of Ireland’s Fintech eco-system. Our capacity to foster and enhance our country’s SME/Start-up appeal to our own domestic and indeed foreign entrepreneurs and corporates seeking to invest in high-value job creation and is central to sustained recovery and prosperity. I look forward to more initiative and more coordination in this space in the context of the Government’s IFS2020 Strategy.”

John Keegan, Director of Distribution Channels, Bank of Ireland, said “We have a comprehensive distribution strategy, delivering our products and services to customers across multiple platforms. Today’s announcement of 100 new roles across the branches is further evidence of our commitment to ensuring staff are on hand to provide high quality advice to customers. Grand Canal Square branch is very exciting for us as it has fast become an important location for many start-ups who are using the space for meetings, day to day working and as a central location to meet clients and create new business opportunities.”

ENDS