EU pressed to step in over Irish pledge

Pressure is mounting on the European Union to intervene in the Irish Government's decision to gurantee all 400 billion (£317 billion) of savings and deposits held in six Irish banks and building societies.

Intense lobbying of the regulators in both Brussel and Dublin came as it emerged that one, if not two, Irish banks were in danger of collapsing this week.

The lobbying is led by leading UK and European banks who have branch networks in the Republic of Ireland which were excluded from the Government's guarantee.

The largest of these is Ulster Bank, a subsidiary of NatWest owner Royal Bank of Scotland. It has 132 branches in the Republic and is reported to account for 20% of retail savings in the Republic.

National Irish Bank is owned by Danske Bank and has a network of 59 branches in the Republic.

Halifax Ireland was set up two years ago as a rebranding of Bank of Scotland's 25 branches.