, is a
Commercial Bank in Northern Ireland. The bank is considered as one of the
Big Four in
Northern Ireland , and issues its own
Banknotes . Since
1 March 2005 it has been owned by
Danske Bank .
Until
1988 , the bank was a subsidiary of the
Midland Bank . In
1987 , the bank's operations in the
Republic Of Ireland were re-organised under a subsidiary company, called
Northern Bank (Ireland) Limited . In
1988 , Northern Bank was acquired by
National Australia Bank , upon which the operations in the Republic of Ireland were renamed
National Irish Bank . Northern Bank then introduced a new logo, a stylised "N" in a hexagon shape. In
2002 , the bank's logotype (the word "Northern") was changed to match that of the National Australia Bank.
In
December 2004 ,
Danske Bank agreed to acquire Northern Bank (and National Irish Bank) for GBP 967m. Don Price will remain as CEO.
On
1 March 2005 the sale of Northern Bank to Danske Bank took effect, following regulatory clearance. As part of this process, Northern Bank will be separated from the National Irish Bank in the Republic and given its own dedicated management team. Northern Bank will also move over to Danske Bank's technology platform, and also adopt a variation of the Danske Bank logo as its corporate identity. This is expected to occur on
18 April 2006 , with the bank's website displaying the new logo as early as
14 April and at least once branch being refitted on
Easter Sunday ,
16 April .
''Main article:
Northern Bank Robbery ''
On
20 December 2004 the cash centre at the bank's headquarters in
Belfast was raided, and £26.5 million stolen. Most of this consisted of uncirculated Northern Bank notes, as well as millions in used notes. There was also over a million pounds in other currencies. The police and government as well as other major political figures in the
United Kingdom and
Republic Of Ireland accused the
Provisional Irish Republican Army of being responsible, although they denied it. A notable exception was the
Sinn Féin political party, which is allied to the Provisional IRA.
