FSU welcomes Minister of Finance in Northern Irelands announcement of a further Banking roundtable discussion in 2025

Stakeholder involvement key to good decision making in banking says FSU

The Financial Services Union (FSU) has welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Finance in Northern Ireland, John O’Dowd MLA that his department will host a further banking roundtable discussion with key stakeholders in the Autumn. The announcement was made at the launch of the FCA 2025- 30 strategy. This will be third banking roundtable discussion with the last one held in November 2024.

Welcoming the announcement Brian McDowell, Head of Communications and Public Affairs with the FSU said:

The future of banking should not be left in the hands of the banks alone but should involve key stakeholders representing community, business and workers.  We welcome the ongoing commitment from the Department of Finance in Northern Ireland to strong stakeholder engagement and look forward to fully participating in the discussions.

Access to cash, the continuation of the bank branch network, adequate staffing levels, and managing the possible effects of AI in the sector will all form part of the discussions.

It is important these issues are managed in a collective way and the effects of any decisions are fully explored.

The FSU call on the Minister for Finance in the Republic of Ireland to follow the example of his Northern Ireland counterpart and reconvene the banking forum in ROI.

It is important stakeholders are given the opportunity to hear about the work already undertaken to implement the 34 recommendations that came from the last banking review and to openly discuss the challenges that currently exist in the sector.”

ENDS