EBS BUILDING Society is cutting 25 jobs from its staff of 655 in a bid to reduce costs amid the property slowdown and credit crunch.

The building society has been running a voluntary redundancy programme since February. A spokesman said the cuts were to introduce internal efficiencies.

EBS finance director Alan Merriman said in the society's 2007 annual report that cost management was "a high priority". He said the effect of the credit crunch and a less buoyant outlook for the property market meant "sustaining underlying revenue will be very difficult in 2008".

"An objective for 2008 is to hold costs as flat as possible and to implement further cost reduction initiatives," said Mr Merriman.

Most financial institutions are monitoring costs closely as lending slows and funding costs remain high.

Stuart Draper, head of research at Dolmen Securities, said: "The mainstream banks definitely have a focus on costs, but they are just tweaking around the edges."

EBS reduced its cost/income ratio - a gauge of efficiency - by two percentage points to 55.8 per cent in 2007. This compares to a ratio of 9.16 per cent for Irish Nationwide Building Society.

AIB and Bank of Ireland have a cost/income ratio of about 51 per cent, while Permanent TSB had a ratio of 55 per cent in 2007 and 49 per cent when Irish Life Permanent's bancassurance earnings through its bank are included.

EBS expects its cost/income ratio to rise this year.