Ulster Bank, Bank of Scotland Ireland, Rabobank, Danske Bank, and more. There have been plenty of lenders who have dipped their toes in the Irish banking sector, only to discover in recent years that the temperature of the water is not to their liking, and disappear. So what exactly is it about Ireland that currently makes it so unattractive to banks, particularly foreign-owned ones? Interest rates Interest rates internationally are currently at record low levels. And they have been so for some time because of the fallout from the last financial crisis and now the impact of Covid-19. The interest rates are low in order to try to stimulate demand in the economy.