Ulster Bank reports 'progress' on clearing backlog

Ulster Bank today said it has made "steady progress" over the weekend to resolve its payments backlog, but "normal service" has not yet resumed.

It has emerged that overnight payments on June 19 were not processed at parent bank Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) due to a technical glitch in the system, which led to the crisis at Ulster Bank.

Because these payments were not processed, every single one had to be checked individually, creating a massive backlog at the company's banks.

In a statement today, Ulster Bank customers were told they should see their account details brought up to date this week, but "normal service" will be further delayed.

"We have made steady progress over the weekend to work through the backlog of payments caused as a result of the IT issues experienced in RBS Group," Ulster Bank said.

"We know this continued disruption is unacceptable, we are doing all we can to help our customers."

Management is pledging a full investigation, overseen by independent experts, once everything is back to normal.