National Irish Bank has had a rough year - entirely of its own making, it must be said - but it is fighting back.

The bank has just introduced Premier Choice, a package of savings-and-borrowing options aimed at higher net worth professionals, with existing loans in excess of £75,000 and income of at least £40,000.

To qualify for the benefits - which include a half per cent discount on home loans, a quarter per cent extra interest on deposits and automatic car loan/lease approval up to £25,000 - you will need to have at least three accounts with NIB.

But these can include anything from its Tailored Home Loan Account (which is one of the better, flexible home loans on the market), a credit card account or any NIB deposit account.

NIB is as interested as any bank in attracting high net worth business to the bank, but obviously needs to try a little harder to change public perceptions about the way it has operated in recent years.

In light of the efforts other banks are also making - Bank of Ireland is heavily promoting its Banking 2000 initiative - this is not a bad package for NIB to launch in its effort to regain confidence and reward attractive new or existing customers.

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Family Money welcomes suggestions from readers on topics of personal finance they would like to see highlighted. Please write to Jill Kerby, c/o The Irish Times, 11-15 D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 or by Fax No. 6798874 or by e-mail: jmkerby@indigo.ie