Brendan Smith warns on Ulster Bank, KBC exits; calls for oversight
Brendan Smith raised concerns about Ulster Bank and KBC exiting the Irish market and urged the Department of Finance and the financial regulator to establish an oversight committee to manage the exit timeframe and customer transfers. He highlighted customer frustration and reduced bank staffing as barriers to orderly account transfers.
Issue raised
Brendan Smith asked the Government and the Department of Finance to engage with the financial regulator with a view to establishing an oversight committee inclusive of all relevant stakeholders to address issues around the banks' exit timetable and account transfers.
Consumer impact and staffing concerns
He described daily reports of customer frustration and worry as account holders try to open new accounts elsewhere, and cited the Financial Services Union in noting that retail banks have significantly reduced personnel and branch networks, leaving bank staff under enormous pressure.
Regulatory engagement
The Tánaiste acknowledged the issue and said significant engagement is already underway. The Central Bank has recently met both the banks exiting the market and the banks expected to provide new accounts, with an emphasis on ensuring the process is orderly.
Department activity and industry forum
The Tánaiste said he had engaged with banks directly and that the Department of Finance organised a retail banking forum in Carlow attended by the regulator, banks, post offices and credit unions, where the need for a well-managed transition was publicly stressed.
Follow-up and monitoring
Officials indicated they will continue to follow up on the matter to monitor the withdrawal process and to try to ensure customers can transfer accounts in an orderly way.
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Tanaiste, as you know, Ulster Bank proposed to exit this state next March and KBC the following August. This does not seem to be a realistic time frame at all due to the very challenging logistics in those two banks' customers transferring their accounts to other financial institutions. I hear daily of the absolute frustration and indeed worries of customers of Ulster and KBC in trying to open new accounts elsewhere. The Financial Services Union have quite rightly pointed out that all retail banks have significantly reduced personnel and their branch network over recent years, resulting in much poorer services for their customers. Bank staff are under enormous pressures. The remaining banks need to increase staff levels substantially to ensure an ordinary transfer of accounts. Can the Government, and the Department of Finance in particular, engage with the financial regulator with a view to the establishment of an oversight committee, inclusive of all relevant stakeholders, to deal with all issues, including the time frame for the exit of those two banks? Thank you, Alaskan Córla. Thank you, Alaskan Córla, and thank Deputy Smith for raising this issue. He has raised now for some time issues in relation to the withdrawal of Ulster Bank from the Irish banking sector. There is already a huge amount of engagement underway with regard to the important Smith issue that Deputy Smith has raised. The Central Bank has, in recent days, met the banks who are involved in both exiting our market and also the banks then that will be expected to provide new accounts for new customers. And they are emphasising the importance of this being done in an orderly way. I have engaged with the banks myself on this matter, because I recognise that from a consumer point of view, this is a moment of huge change. And at a retail banking forum that the Department of Finance organised last week in Carlow, in which our regulator was there, all of our banks were there, our post offices, credit unions, I made the point in public to everybody that this is a transition that we need to go well. And we will continue to follow up on this matter. Thank you.
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