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ULSTER BANK HAS pulled the plug on a further ten branches across its Irish network.
The bank confirmed this afternoon that it will close branches at South Mall in Cork, Granard in Longford, Pearse Road in Sligo, Clane in Kildare and at Kimmage, George’s Quay and Inchicore in Dublin.
In addition to these closures, a further three sub offices at Clara, Enfield and Lifford will be shut by November 2014.
There will be no redundancies as a result of the closures.
In a statement, the bank said that it had taken the decision to axe the branches due to changing customer behaviours in the wake of the emergence of mobile and online banking.
Union response
Finance workers union IBOA strongly criticised the move, stating its concern that Ulster Bank is pre-empting negotiations between senior management and the union over the restructuring of the institution.
IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick said that said: “Just as in the Danske Bank branch closures announced just over a week ago, Ulster Bank management cannot confirm that this announcement marks the end of the restructuring of its branch network.”
Indeed we are aware from comments by chief executive, Jim Brown, earlier this year, that further branch closures may be in the pipeline over the next three years.
The bank is also closing five branches in Northern Ireland.
Broderick concluded: “IBOA remains willing to continue to negotiate the terms of a comprehensive agreement on future change within Ulster Bank. But we need a degree of transparency from management to ensure that the outcome of these negoatiations offers the best possible solution for all of the Bank’s stake-holders.”
Mergers
It has been strongly rumoured that Ulster Bank may get into bed with another small bank to form a ‘third banking force’ capable of rivalling Bank of Ireland and AIB, with PTSB and KBC mentioned as the most likely candidates.
However, in a note this morning, Davy seemed to pour cold water on that idea, pointing out that KBC recently said it is committed to the Irish market as a standalone entity until 2016 at the earlier.
Davy said that a tie-up in the near-term with PTSB is unlikely for similar reasons, also citing the impact on price and both banks’ capital positions.
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cant wait till credit unions are able to issue “bank cards”, i’ll know where my business will be going
Sounds like they’re trying to pull out of Ireland a couple of branches at a time
Closing branches down citing a reliance on Internet banking. Well, they’ve managed in a right royal way to make a banjax of that as well over the last few years. Breakdowns and infringements of security are a common trend. In reality they don’t want to be in customer service anymore for the small saver and they would rather be out of Ireland.
Care to quote those “infringements”?
Spying
What infringements of Internet security are you referring to? I haven’t heard of any by Irish banks, and if there were any, surely we’d be seeing them used every day on here as an extra stick to beat the banks with.
What bank do you work for Neal?
I don’t work for any bank, Niall. The only institution I work for is the one depicted in my avatar.
Fractional reserve banking had its heyday in the twentieth century and should have expired in the same cetury. Unfortunately, this did n’t happen. In the interval, we the taxpayers have to subsidise this obsolete model until policymakers realise that we are no longer in the twentieth century.
http://www.freebanking.org/2012/07/02/testimony-on-fractional-reserve-banking/
Absolutely useless Ulster Bank full of red tape and bureaucracy and less than helpful staff especially the swords branch.
Totally disagree. The best bank of them all. Staff are always friendly! No where near on par with the horrendous service boi and aib offers their customers!
Think you should raise the issue with the staff in Swords rather than venting on here!! Poor form!!
Ulster staff are the friendliest staff of all the banks to deal with!!
Staff as rude as hell in Galway too. Such attitude problems. I always dread going in.
@Thors and Paula, I often find one gets an attitude befitting your own when interacting with people in general. If you walk in irate and accusative you will not get the most pleasant response. Don’t be shocked if this is not just limited to banks, but you find that most customer service reps are not exactly your best friends. For the most part I have found UB to have friendly staff and I have operated out of 8 branches over the years(due to moving and what have you), but I will agree the staff are beginning to be limit in what they can do due to decision made higher up.
Have to disagree. Have had a very pleasant experience with them & they even have me €2k after their IT “glitch” as they’d left me in a very difficult position for a couple of days
Normally nice staff.
However their only plan for their 10′s of thousands of distressed customers is to push them further into distress.
One of the greediest banks of the bubble.
reckless, doomed to fail, ticking timbomb, un-payable, unsustainable
100%,
Interest only,
10x times income,
were burdened on customers
coupled with car, home improvement loans and credit card to wipe them out entirely.
No wonder they cost the British taxpayer £15 Billion and counting.
They’ll be gone entirely very soon.
I never walk in irate but lately I walk in prepared. On member of staff didn’t have the patience to listen to my request and she kept interrupting me and was absolutely condescending. The looks she gave me, I felt dirty!! The male staff members are actually not too bad but THEIR attitude is not MY fault or my problem. They really need some customer service techniques or else get a new job if they hate theirs. I’m not talking about the decisions they make or don’t make I’m talking about their actual attitude, they’re so short and look really pissed off.
Simple answer then, close your account!!
RBS want rid of Ulster. They tried to sell it to the Irish government. Pass on the mess they created.
I hope the one in maynooth doesn’t close….The manager there is a fantastic guy….I was getting phone calls here to oklahoma about concerns he had about my elderly mother….and I was able to sort them quickly….he’s good man
The branch in Shannon is the friendliest bank I was ever in, hope that doesn’t close either.
Goodbye and good riddance and no absence wont make the heart grow fonder in this case !
Do you really want there to be even less competition than there is now?
Allsops here we come
Have had nothing but bad experiences in my local one in , was in there yesterday and had to queue 3 times at different desks because nobody knew how to close an account
It’s a pity Ulster Bank wouldn’t close every branch including the HQ & leave the country for good, that they have helped to destroy
Will this bring the interest rate down ?Ulster bank are always above the EU rate trading under the UK when it suits tut tut
Don’t get too excited. The UK base rate is going to start going up soon.
This means there will be no banks in Inchicore at all now!! What about the people that live there the nearest Ulster Bank branch is Walkinstown, with no direct bus routes. Disgrace.
Probably the Bank of Ireland on James Street is closer (opposite entrance to Guinness).
They manipulation of the bank customers to create the impression of inactivity at the counters !!!
have your say