Ulster Bank, the Irish member of the Royal Bank of Scotland has begun recruiting with the aim of entering the Irish motor finance market.
The Bank is currently advertising a number of roles, including for the position of director at the new secured lending arm. In the job description, Ulster wrote: "We’re creating a CCF [consumer car finance] team to provide mass market financing to the Irish car and van market. This is an exciting time to come on board as we re- establish ourselves in this large and important AF [asset finance] market."
When approached by Motor Finance to provide comment about the potential for a new motor finance division, a spokesperson at Ulster Bank confirmed the bank planned to rebuild its motor finance arm.
The Irish market was hit hard by the recession, which saw an exodus of capital from the market as car sales declined dramatically. The situation has improved in recent years, however, and 125,945 new cars were registered in Ireland in 2015, up 29.8% year-on-year, according to European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) figures.
When Motor Finance investigated the Irish market in late 2015 Peter McGuiness, chief executive officer at Europe Bluestone Group, predicted that this growth made new entrants into the Irish finance market ‘almost inevitable.’
The Ulster Bank spokesperson said: "As part of our drive to become number one for customer service, trust and advocacy, we are rebuilding our presence in motor and wholesale finance and are recruiting for a new Motor Finance Team.
"A good example of this is our new (wholesale finance market) Unit Stocking Product, primarily aimed at cars and Light Commercial Vehicles, which launched late last year."
