Ulster Bank is on track to return its banking licence in the Republic in the coming months after 165 years in the market, following the transfer of unclaimed customer deposits to a trust, according to sources.

The bank, a unit of NatWest Group, may hand back the licence to the Central Bank of Ireland as early as next month, though the timing could drift into the third quarter, the sources said. Joe Brennan has the details.

Ireland has strong potential to develop “a globally competitive offshore wind supply chain, if efforts are aligned on all-island basis, according to a report commissioned by InterTradeIreland (ITI).