Irish guarantee-covered banks' deposits slip again in Sept

DUBLIN Oct 18 (Reuters) - Deposits held by Irish banks covered by a government guarantee fell marginally for the second successive month in September, although the banks' reliance on funding from the European Central Bank continued to ease.

Deposits at Allied Irish Banks Group, permanent tsb and Bank of Ireland fell by 0.5 percent to 153 billion euros ($201 billion) mainly due to weakness in the corporate sector, Ireland's finance department said on Thursday.

Deposits were 7.8 percent higher year-on-year. Big outflows in 2010 left lenders reliant on the ECB for funding and that reliance fell by 0.8 billion euros to 60 billion in September, down from a peak of 93 billion in January 2011.