National Irish Bank employees get reassurance from Australian parent

NATIONAL IRISH BANK (NIB) will not be sold off by its Australian parent, employees were told yesterday.

The Irish Bank Officials’ Association (IBOA), which represents staff at NIB and Northern Bank, its sister bank in Northern Ireland, said National Australia Bank chief executive John Stewart had given it “firm assurances” that both banks had a future within the NAB group.

IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick headed a delegation that met with Mr Stewart at a conference in New Zealand yesterday. Mr Broderick said he heard detailed plans for NAB’s operations in Europe, which include both Irish banks as well as British banks Clydesdale and Yorkshire, and was told that NIB and Northern had “pivotal” roles to play in the group’s expansion programme.