20 Pounds Bank of Ireland

Bank of Ireland (UK) plc is a separate legal entity from its Dublin-based parent, authorized and regulated in the United Kingdom — a distinction that matters for legal tender status. These notes circulate in Northern Ireland only, where Bank of Ireland holds one of the six commercial banknote-issuing authorizations that survived the various banking consolidations of the late twentieth century. The backing requirement, enforced by the Bank of England, mandates that every note in circulation be matched pound-for-pound by Bank of England notes or other approved assets held in reserve.

De La Rue's Gateshead facility has handled Northern Irish commercial banknote production for decades, one of the quieter corners of a printing operation better known for its sovereign currency contracts.