Time for Central Bank to intervene and set realistic timelines for exit of Ulster Bank from Irish Banking market

John O’Connell, General Secretary of the Financial Services Union, has described the announcement by Ulster Bank that it intends to issue letters to customers informing them of a six-month deadline to close accounts as reckless.

Commenting on the announcement Mr O’Connell said:

“It is the role of the Central Bank as regulator to ensure the exit of Ulster Bank is managed in an orderly fashion and the system to deal with the exit is robust and fit for purpose.

It is clear from all reports, that the Banking system is not resourced to deal with the huge volume of work that will flow from the exit of Ulster Bank. All the main retail Banks have reduced staff numbers, closed branches and currently have problems with existing customer services as outlined in the recent Central Bank report. These decisions opposed by the FSU has resulted in a position that as receiving Banks they have no capacity to cope with today’s announcement by Ulster Bank.

The FSU has called for a transparent process to be initiated across all the banks, which allows customers the opportunity to switch their accounts in a timely manner with the appropriate level of support and staffing levels to meet customers’ expectations.

The regulator needs to intervene now to ensure customers and staff are not adversely affected. No letters should issue from Ulster Bank until everyone is confident the system can cope with the additional pressures and workload and adequate resources and staff are in place to protect customers and businesses.”

ENDS