Formerly known as Irish Life and Permanent plc, Permanent TSB Group Holdings is a personal financial services provider in Ireland. The company provides small and medium enterprise bank and financial services and products such as current accounts, investments, corporate and retail deposits, consumer finance and residential mortgages. 

Brief History

Permanent TSB Group Holdings started as three different companies: Permanent Building Society, Irish Life Assurance and Trustee Savings Bank (TSB). The Permanent Building society arm of the company has been in existence since 1884 when it was first established as the Irish Temperance Permanent Benefit Building Society. In 1940 it underwent a name change to Irish Permanent Building Society and continued operations. In the late 1980s, the law changed for building societies allowing them to expand their services on offer. By 1992 the company branched off to establish Irish Permanent Finance, a division specialising in vehicle finance. Irish Life Assurance was a life assurance company launched in 1939 with help from the Irish government. Irish Life Assurance merged with Permanent in 1999. TSB Bank was first established in 1816 and went through various developments before being acquired by Irish Life and Permanent in 2001. In the next few years, the company was floated on the Dublin and London stock exchanges and several acquisitions were made, further expanding services.

Geographically

Permanent TSB Group Holdings is located in Dublin, Ireland. Some years ago a collection of British companies shed their operations in Ireland in favour of merging them into Irish Life Assurance, one of the parent companies of the group. Prior to that several subsidiaries of the company operated in the United Kingdom in London, Belfast and Isle of Man. Currently, Permanent TSB Group Holdings operates via a network of 77 branches and other intermediaries across Ireland. 

Significant Investments

Permanent TSB Group Holdings operates by reinvesting deposits in the form of loans and making other investments. The company’s investment options are flexible and designed to suit individual needs. In May 2015 during the venture round of funding Permanent TSB Group Holdings raised EUR€2.2 million. In October 2017 a sum of EUR€500 million was raised for debt financing. 

Permanent TSB Group Holdings in the News

In November 2018, Simply Wall Street published an investigative article about factors that may affect the profitability and risk of Permanent TSB Group Holdings. It was concluded that the company is in good standing and it only poses a relatively sensible operational risk. It was reported by Business and Finance that Permanent TSB Group Holdings appointed a new retail banking director. Hailing from a strong background in the banking industry with roles such as the head of retail banking of AIB, Patrick Farrell was welcomed to his new role. In February 2019 The Irish Times reported on the need for banks to adapt to the changes happening in the industry with fintech becoming increasingly important. The article featured Permanent TSB’s plans to adapt to changes, particularly when it comes to legacy accounts.