If the merger between Bank of Ireland and Alliance & Leicester had gone ahead, it would have created the eighth largest financial institution and fifth largest mortgage bank in the UK.

The merged bank would have had a combined workforce of 23,600 employees and 680 branches in Ireland and the UK.

Alliance & Leicester converted from a building society to a public company in 1997 and its strength remains in the savings and mortgage market although it has branched out into other financial products including credit cards, consumer finance, commercial services, life assurance and unit trusts.

Bank of Ireland is the Republic's second-largest bank and provides a full range of retail and commercial banking services.

Bank of Ireland reported pre-tax profits of £831 million (€1.1 billion) in the year to March. Alliance & Leicester made a pre-tax profit of £455 million sterling (€690 million) in 1998.