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11 March 2009

Important Information for Guernsey Customers Relating to the Closure of our Guernsey Branch on 11th March 2009

Following a review of our operations we have decided for business reasons, with effect from close of business on 11th March 2009, to close our Guernsey office and consolidate all our activities in the Isle of Man. Guernsey already operates as a branch office of the Bank of Ireland (I.O.M) Limited and we are committed to ensuring that you will see very little change to your service and account operation.

We are very keen to retain your business but appreciate you may wish to review your options following our decision. We hope the following information will help you with your decision. Our staff in both offices are also available to assist with any queries or issues you may have.

Your options:

You can close your account and we will repay the balance plus accrued interest and without penalty¹ either by cheque or by transfer to a nominated bank account of your choice;

Or,

You can continue to operate your account from our Isle of Man office by post or telephone, your account terms & conditions will continue unchanged (although in due course we may need to allocate a new account number).

Alternatively, you can close your account in the normal way either in person at the Guernsey office or by post (providing we hear from you by before close of business 11th March).
Please CLICK HERE to download a form to enable you to close your account in Guernsey.

If you have not closed your account before close of business on 11th March it will be transferred to the Isle of Man and you will be able to operate it through our Isle of Man office.

We will waive any notice requirement that would otherwise mean you cannot close your account prior to 11th March and we will pay you interest at the agreed rate up to the date of withdrawal.

If you have a Guaranteed Equity Bond, and do not wish to continue with the account through the Isle of Man office, we will allow you to terminate early (whether or not the terms of your Bond provide for such termination). If you chose to terminate we will apply the formula in the terms and conditions for those Guaranteed Equity Bonds which provide for early termination the application of that formula will mean that you will receive less than the amount originally invested in the Bond.

In making your decision you may wish to take advice from a qualified independent financial or professional adviser.

In order to assist you with your decision it is important at this time of financial turbulence to point out the various deposit protection schemes operating in the relevant jurisdictions.

For deposits held with the Bank of Ireland (I.O.M) Limited (whether in Guernsey or the Isle of Man):

Irish Government Guarantee
Accounts held by Bank of Ireland (I.O.M) Limited are covered by a guarantee provided by the Irish Government until 29th September 2010. This covers the entirety of any balance over and above that covered by the Isle of Man Deposit Protection Scheme and the Guernsey Deposit Compensation Scheme. Further details can be accessed by: http://www.boioffshore.com/holdingpage5.aspx.

For deposits held in the Isle of Man:

Isle of Man Depositors Compensation Scheme
This scheme protects individual personal deposits in certain circumstances up to a maximum of £50,000. Please visit this website for further details: http://www.gov.im/lib/docs/fsc/guidancedcs.pdf.

For deposits held in Guernsey:

Guernsey Deposit Compensation Scheme
The Bailiwick scheme protects certain deposits held with licensed banks in Guernsey up to £50,000 per depositor, subject to a total claim of no more than £100 million in any five year period. Further details can be obtained from this website: http://www.gov.gg/ccm/treasury-and-resources/communications/states-meeting/depositor-compensation-scheme.en. You should be aware that once the branch is closed on 11th March 2009 (and your account is either closed or moved to the Isle of Man), you will no longer have any protection under the Guernsey compensation scheme.

We appreciate there is a lot of information to consider but please contact our staff on
01481 720609 if you have further queries.

The decision to exit from our Guernsey operation has not been taken lightly, however we are keen that you remain as a customer of the Bank into the future. In any event we want to thank you for your support over many years.

Please CLICK HERE to download a form to enable you to close your account in Guernsey.

¹ Subject to the early termination arrangements for Guaranteed Equity Bonds.