The Irish Bank Officials' Association (IBOA) has voiced its concerns about the future ownership of Ulster Bank. IBOA general secretary Mr Ciaran Ryan said yesterday that Ulster Bank's staff in the Republic had been unsettled by Bank of Scotland's take-over bid for its parent, the National Westminster Bank.

If successful, Bank of Scotland is expected to sell off a number of NatWest subsidiaries, including Ulster Bank.

The IBOA has pointed out that Ulster Bank is a major contributor to the NatWest Group. Last year, the average profit per employee at NatWest was £27,000, while at Ulster Bank this contribution rose to £35,000.

"Ulster Bank staff feel they are making a strong contribution to the group but also feel they are being nudged to one side by the bid," said Mr Ryan.

NatWest has rejected the bid as undervaluing the bank's true net worth but the negotiations seem far from over.

If Ulster Bank were to come on the market, Irish Life & Permanent would be among the front-runners to buy it. Ulster Bank's branch network would give the group access to the main clearing system and would allow it to establish a sizeable banking presence in the Republic and the North. Meanwhile, British life and pensions group Legal & General said yesterday it was disappointed that its take-over deal with NatWest was likely to lapse.

It said it had not received any take-over interest from any other party and was confident it could carry on independently.

Bank of Scotland's bid capitalised on shareholder concerns about the Legal & General deal, in particular scepticism about the NatWest management's ability to merge the groups successfully and generate extra income from bancassurance.