Britannia Building Society is buying 97 Bristol & West branches from the Bank of Ireland.
The £150m deal, which includes a £4.5bn savings book, takes Britannia to 250 branches in the South West.
It is likely 32 branches that are less than a mile from existing Britannia branches will close.
References: Financial Times 25/05/05 page 22, The Guardian 25/05/05 page 18, The Times 25/05/05 page 42 (Need to know), page 50, The Daily Telegraph 25/05/05 page 31
