Gordon Brown on Thursday piled pressure on Ireland to stop banks using a new €400bn (£313bn) government guarantee to poach business from British rivals, amid signs that it could trigger a flight of funds across the Irish Sea. Brown wants Dublin to halt aggressive marketing campaigns by Irish banks and take measures to cap the market share of institutions now considered among the safest in Europe. Ireland’s decision to prop up its six biggest lenders by guaranteeing all their debts and deposits was passed into law on Thursday, in the face of anger across the EU about its impact on the EU’s single market. British bankers said there were already signs that some Irish lenders were approaching corporate and private banking customers in the UK and encouraging them to move their money. Companies and wealthy individuals are seen as prime targets because they are more likely to have cash balances in excess of the £35,000 at which the UK government guarantees deposits.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Friday, October 3rd, 2008 at 5:35 and is filed under Capital markets, People. Tagged with gordon brown, ireland. Edit this entry.