Permanent TSB Bank has launched an aggressive attempt to win a bigger share of the deposit market, with a new on-demand postal account offering 2 per cent interest.
The offer compares well against the interest rates being offered on demand deposit accounts by the main banks, which are as low as 0.02 per cent.
The new accounts carry a promise to track the European Central Bank rate, currently 2 per cent, for the remainder of the current year and to stay within 0.5 per cent of the ECB rate from that date onwards.
Everything involved in managing the deposit accounts, including opening them, making lodgments and making withdrawals, will have to be done by post and the minimum investment required will be €5,000.
To minimise costs the accounts will be managed from a centre to be established at the bank's offices in Blackrock, Co Dublin.
At the recent a.g.m. of Irish Life and Permanent, its chief executive, Mr David Went, said the company would be unveiling a new strategy to increase its share of the deposit market.
