EUROPEAN Monetary Union will be good for Ireland and what is good for Ireland is good for the banks, according to Bank of Ireland chief executive Mr Pat Molloy. "As an organisation, we are operating on the basis that EMU will occur and that Ireland will be involved from the beginning. We have teams in place assessing the organisational and strategic issues involved," he said.

The impact on bank revenue would depend on whether sterling joined, he said. With sterling accounting for some 60 per cent of the bank's European currency trading, he stressed revenue loss would be significantly less if sterling did not join.

Equipping the bank for EMU would involve considerable cost, he said. But this would be a once off cost which would be spread over three years. "It will not be a significant cost for our business," he said, adding that the cost would compare favourably to the ongoing cost of margin erosion on core income. "We are already coping with that erosion, so no doubt we will cope with EMU."

Mr Brian Goggin, head of bank's corporate and treasury division, explained that revenue loss would be gradual. But he anticipates opportunities to build new revenue within EMU. "The euro market will be bigger and more liquid and there will be opportunities in risk management where we have built considerable skills," he said.