The Central Bank today said it has bought a site from NAMA for its new headquarters that was originally intended for Anglo Irish Bank. The unfinished building is on North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 and was bought from the receivers of North Quay Investments Limited for E7m. "As has been previously announced (in May 2012), it is the Central Bank's intention to complete the construction of the existing building on the site, with modifications, and to relocate to it as its headquarters," the Central Bank said. The Central Bank has grown rapidly in size in response to the banking crisis and to address regulatory failures that played a key role in the causes of the crisis. The number of staff employed at the Central Bank has risen from 1,022 at the end of 2008 to 1,372 at the end of last year. Most new staff have been hired for the regulatory side of the bank's operations. Central Bank governor Patrick Honohan said in February that staff could not be accommodated at the Central Bank's head office on Dame Street and that they had to be located across six locations, including leased offices in Spencer Dock and on Harcourt Street. He said in a public speech that the "clock is ticking on our occupancy of the Dame Street tower". The current building on Dame Street has long been considered an architectural "monstrosity" and nicknamed "the bunker" by Dubliners.