Ulster Bank to close 20 branches across island

Ulster Bank is set to close up to 20 branches in the Republic and in the North during the year.

The move is part of the British-owned bank’s efforts to scale back its operations in this country.

In a statement released yesterday, Ulster Bank said: “As previously stated we continue to keep our branch network under review to ensure that we are operating in the correct locations for our customers.

“As part of this review we will be closing in the region of 20 branches and suboffices on the island of Ireland in 2013. We expect to be in a position to provide further details in the next few weeks and will communicate directly with our customers and employees at that time.”

Royal Bank of Scotland, which is 82% owned by the UK chancellor of the exchequer, has had to pump over £15bn (€18.5bn) into its Irish subsidiary to cover losses through exposure to the property market since 2008.

Officials from the Irish Bank Officials’ Association (IBOA) will meet Ulster Bank executives next week to discuss the planned closures.

An Ulster Bank executive detailed its plans to shut offices on a conference call with some staff last month, the IBOA said in a letter to its members at the bank.

Ulster Bank said it will provide more detail on the closures in coming weeks.

“I’m shocked that an announcement like this was made during a teleconference with no prior consultation with our union,” said Larry Broderick, the head of the IBOA.

“In light of this, the bank has agreed to meet us next week.”

Branch closures at Ulster Bank would mirror moves by lenders such as AIB — the nation’s largest mortgage lender — Lloyds Banking Group plc, which withdrew from the market in 2010, and Danske Bank following the collapse of a real-estate bubble.

Ulster Bank announced 950 job losses this time last year. It is understood that the closure of 20 branches will not lead to further job losses.

The bank’s operating loss widened in the first nine months of last year to £797m, from £751m in the year-earlier period, as a fall in interest income offset stabilising loan losses.

The bank controls 146 branches in the Republic and 90 in the North, according to its website.

“We continue to keep our branch network under review to ensure that we are operating in the correct locations for our customers,” the bank said.

A separate IBOA notice to Ulster Bank members in November stated that Jim Brown, the unit’s chief executive, told the union that Edinburgh-based RBS remains committed to its Irish unit.

Mr Brown also indicated that a branch review hadn’t been completed and that it continues to examine outsourcing possibilities, according to the note.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg