爱尔兰银行简介

　　The Bank of Ireland (Irish: Banc na héireann), officially known as the Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.

　　Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, today Bank of Ireland is number two to Allied Irish Banks（爱尔兰联合银行）. The Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history. At the core of the modern-day group is the old Bank of Ireland, the ancient institution established by royal charter in 1783. Bank of Ireland is the oldest bank in Ireland. From the beginning, it was connected closely with the leading banking family in Dublin, the Huguenot La Touche family. A member of that family - David La Touche - was the first Governor.

　　The historic institution as well as being a commercial bank - a deposit-taker and a credit institution - was a Central Bank in embryo, much like the earlier established Bank of Scotland and Bank of England（英格兰银行）. Bank of Ireland operated the Exchequer Account and during the nineteenth century acted as something of a banker of last resort. Historically Bank of Ireland is a pillar of the Establishment, an Ascendancy institution. It has its historic peculiarities - such as the titles of the chairman of the board of directors (the Governor) and the title of the board itself (the Court of Directors).

　　The bank was formed by an Act of the Irish Parliament in 1782 to support public and commercial finances in Ireland. The headquarters of the bank until the 1970s was the impressive, Bank of Ireland building in Dublin. This building hosted the Irish Parliament before the Act of Union 1800.Today visitors can still view the impressive Irish House of Lords chamber within the building. The banks headquarters is now a modern building in Baggot Street, Dublin, but the Bank of Ireland in College Green remains a working branch. A little known fact is that when the headquarters was built, it caused the world price of copper to rise - such was the usage in the building.

　　In 1958, the Bank took over the Hibernian Bank Limited and in 1965 the National Bank of Ireland Limited, and rebranded them as Bank of Ireland.

　　Although the bank is headquartered in Dublin, it has operations throughout the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, particularly Northern Ireland, where it prints its own banknotes in Pounds Sterling. In Great Britain, the bank expanded largely through the takeover of the Bristol and West Building Society in 1996. It also provides financial services for the Post Office throughout the UK.

　　From the foundation of the Irish Free State until December 31, 1971, the Bank of Ireland was the banker of the Irish Government, but not the central bank. The central bank was only formed twenty years after the Irish Free State and is called the Central Bank of Ireland. In 1956 the Bank was authorised to operate the Prize Bond scheme, and c

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