Ulster Bank management behavior ‘deplorable’

The union representing Ulster Bank staff has described the behavior of the lender’s management and its parent NatWest as “deplorable” in the six months leading up to last Friday’s announcement of a reduction in Ulster Bank’s operations here.

In a written opening statement provided to the Oireachtas Finance, Public Spending and Reform Committee, and to Taoiseach ahead of hearings this afternoon, Financial Services Union (FSU) Secretary General John O’Connell said that the staff and customers had been subjected to terrible treatment by the Bank.

He said the union had met with Ulster Bank CEO Jane Howard five times since September, when news broke of NatWest’s review of Ulster Bank’s operations.

He said that on all occasions the bank refused to provide the terms of reference for the review, who was conducting the review, or any updates on its progress with staff and clients obtaining their information through the media.

Since the bank has signed a non-binding MOU with AIB to sell it business loans, O’Connell questioned whether anyone believes it is credible that Ulster Bank took a position that no decision on the review was made until last Thursday. in the evening. .

He also criticized NatWest for deciding last September not to engage with staff and their representatives and not to operate with good change management practices and agree on a communication channel.

He stated that instead, the group chose to increase the mental stress and anxiety of its staff, despite claims that it passionately cares about the well-being of its employees.

O’Connell also criticized the Central Bank, saying that the result of the review was an indictment due to its inaction.

“For months, there have been media reports about the bank’s lack of engagement with key groups and for months consumers and staff looked to the regulator for action,” he said.

“But the Central Bank can act now and give communities the assurance that no branch closures will be acceptable during the pandemic.”

The union boss also accused the two banks of putting profit seeking above all else.

“There is no doubt that the management of NatWest and Ulster Bank has failed their staff and clients,” he told the committee.

“Their deplorable behavior over the past six months must be addressed at the highest level in the government and by the Central Bank. In its comments on Friday, the regulator did not once highlight the poor treatment of staff. Not good enough.” .

He said priorities need to be agreed around retirement, including that jobs should follow work to other institutions, that mandatory layoffs are not acceptable under any circumstances, and that branch closures should not be considered until late 2022 at the earliest.

“Agreeing on these three issues would give certainty to staff and customers,” he said. He also reiterated the FSU’s call for a banking forum to be established to examine the future of banking here.

O’Connell told the committee that Ulster Bank said in a statement that there would be no mandatory layoffs.

However, he said 40 employees are fighting for their jobs and trying to stop NatWest and Ulster Bank from firing them.

He also said it was unclear what the impact on colleagues in Northern Ireland would be with concerns about the future of 600 jobs at Ulster Bank’s Belfast office.

Labor finance spokesman Ged Nash said he was surprised that staff were expected to accept the idea that the decision on Ulster Bank was not made until Friday morning, the day it was announced.

He said that no one could be asked to accept that a major bank of this scale would make a decision of this magnitude overnight.

Ulster Bank’s top management is also expected to tell the committee that there is a clear reason for NatWest’s decision to liquidate the bank, when they appear before it this afternoon.

In their draft opening statement seen by RTÉ News, representatives of the bank said that for the last ten years their strategy has been to improve returns by growing the business, reducing costs and solving legacy problems.

But despite the progress made, it has become clear that the bank cannot generate long-term sustainable returns for shareholders, the draft statement continues.

The lender is also expected to defend its decision not to notify staff in advance of its plan to withdraw from the Irish market.

According to the draft opening statement, until the NatWest board made a decision on Friday morning, there was no certainty about the final outcome of the review.

The bank is expected to accept that this situation, added to the continuous media speculation and some of the communications issued to workers, adds to the stress of the situation.

The management team is also ready to explain how speculation that appeared in the media in September about the bank’s future left it in the difficult situation of not being able to update staff because the review was underway, but the outcome is uncertain.

He is expected to tell TDs and senators that there was a requirement to conduct discussions in a manner that ensured business sensitivity and confidentiality, while in the later stages of the review, management was subject to additional restrictions. until the board made a decision that could be announced to the market.

The bank’s decision to refuse to meet with the committee during the review was due to the fact that the issues were, and in some cases remain, commercially sensitive, the draft opening statement says.

The committee is also expected to hear that negotiations with AIB and Permanent TSB, along with other counterparties, on the possible sale of loans may take several months to move forward.

Ulster Bank management is also keen to reiterate that there will be no immediate personnel changes or new mandatory departures this year and that it has no intention of closing any branches this year.

Customers will also not be affected in the short term, according to the draft opening statement, and the bank will continue to offer a full banking service for the foreseeable future, probably until 2022 at the earliest.

The bank will also inform committee members that by communicating with customers through a process that began last week, the Consumer Protection Code has been placed at the center of activity.