19 jobs to go as bank winds down operations

CLYDESDALE Bank International's is pulling out of the island at a cost of 19 local jobs.

The move reflects an unwelcome trend in the industry, the Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.

Julian Winser, pictured, chairman of its Finance, Employment, Legal & Tax sub-group and CEO of Schroders, said the deposit-taker's decision to close to new customers was sad, but not unexpected.

The bank announced yesterday that employees had begun running down the existing business – a process not expected to be complete before 2014.

Mr Winser said many small building societies were reviewing what to do with their offshore business. 'Originally, the rationale for being offshore was because you got a bigger margin for your capital because of better interest rates offshore. As a result, UK clients put money in banks like Clydesdale International to pick up the extra percentage.