Bank’s ‘lip service’ to council over closures

Joe Boyle made the remarks as elected members voiced their concerns about how the closures would affect the two towns. Ulster Bank has announced a total of nine branch closures this year.

Earlier in the summer Ards and North Down Council agreed to write to Ulster Bank expressing its “total opposition” to the two branch closures. It also agreed to invite representatives from the bank to meet councillors to assess how the closures would affect local businesses and residents.

Earlier this month a meeting was held between the Ulster Bank head of retail banking in NI, Terry Robb, and councillors elected to the Comber, Holywood and Clandeboye district electoral areas.

Mr Robb told the elected representatives that while continuance of ATMs on the old buildings lay with the new owners, there would continue to be access to free-to-use ATMs “within the locality”. He said all users of the bank who were registered vulnerable would be “targeted proactively and provided information on alternative physical banking locations including services offered by the Post Office”.

He said that these customers would be given the name of an individual member of staff who can answer queries rather than a call centre, and confirmed bespoke face-to-face education workshops could be arranged for community groups.

When asked about what he knew of the impact upon footfall in towns and villages of the bank closures, he replied “as Ulster Bank had not closed a branch in over five years,” he was “unable to determine the exact impact the closure would have” on Holywood and Comber.

The council report states: “When questioned about the lack of public consultation on the closure, Mr Robb confirmed that Financial Conduct Authority rules do not require public consultation to take place in advance of a closure and that Ulster Bank had completed the necessary desktop analysis.”

DUP councillor Nigel Edmond told the chamber: “What we are seeing now in Comber and elsewhere is an absolute disgrace, and disrespectful to the constituents of this borough. There is not a bank branch on the Ards peninsula, you have to go to Newtownards, and now we are seeing the towns targeted. And they think everybody will go to online banking. Older people do not understand the technology.” He added: “What I don’t want to see is elderly people storing money in their houses.”

SDLP councillor Mr Boyle said the approach from Ulster Bank at the meetings with political representatives was “insulting” and a “lip service event”. He said: “It’s big business, they are moving on, and they don’t care about the small person, and the elderly person with cash sums who doesn’t want to get into e-banking.”