Anglo Irish Bank has said it will be "seriously competing" to acquire ICC Bank if the Government puts it up for sale. Speaking at the bank's annual general meeting in Dublin, chairman Mr Gerard Murphy set out the company's position.

He said Anglo Irish had no interest in acquiring ACC - or TSB if it is put up for sale - but regarded ICC as very similar to Anglo Irish in its "ethos".

"We will take a hard look at ICC, do our due diligence and if we are happy with the terms, we will be putting it forward to the shareholders," said Mr Murphy.

He said TSB was a "retail operation" with an elaborate branch system and this did not suit Anglo Irish. He described ACC as doing a "different kind of business".

The Government is expected to sell off the ICC and ACC in the months ahead, seeking tender offers for both.

Anglo Irish would face stiff competition for ICC from other Irish companies and overseas interests. The Irish Permanent, which has little existing presence in the business banking market, is expected to be among the bidders.

The National Irish Bank's parent, National Australia, is also likely to have examined ICC as a takeover option.

Anglo Irish has been mentioned as a possible target for acquisition itself, but Mr Murphy said it had not been approached by anyone with an offer. "We are not building this bank to become an attractive takeover target for somebody else," he said.

The bank has said it wants to double the size of its balance sheet from the current £3 billion level over the next five years. This will involve compound annual growth of 15 per cent.

Mr Murphy said profits for the three months to the end of December were well ahead of the same period in 1996 and all sectors were ahead of targets.