Ulster Bank

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Shane Ross Opinion Cast-offs shouldn’t bank on human voices — or kindness

Happy days are here again. Spring 2021 marked a historic breakthrough for Ireland’s native bankers. They could not believe their luck. Two foreign invaders — Ulster Bank, owned by the UK’s NatWest, and KBC bank from Belgium — pulled out within weeks. It was back to the good old days of a duopoly. AIB and Bank of Ireland licked their lips; they would rule the waves again. Permanent TSB would remain an irritant, but the Big Two would return to market domination.

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PTSB staff now in Ulster Bank branches ahead of exit

Permanent TSB staff are now operating from 45 Ulster Bank branches across Ireland to support customers switching their accounts before Ulster Bank permanently withdraws from the market.

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AIB expects to make €90m a year after agreeing terms to buy Ulster’s €5.7bn of trackers

AIB and NatWest yesterday confirmed the Irish bank’s acquisition of Ulster Bank’s €5.7bn portfolio of performing tracker mortgages, as the huge shift in the banking market to just three main players gathers pace.

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Borrowers risk bigger interest rate hikes from non-banks

The growth of non-bank lenders in the market for home loans is potentially exposing more borrowers to faster and bigger interest rate increases, according to new research from the Central Bank.

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Focus on Financial Services: Increasingly varied sector in flux as it loses two stalwarts

This year is seeing perhaps the most seismic shift in Ireland’s financial services sector in a very long time.

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Fully privatised bank sector risks worsening crashes – ECB

The Irish Government policy of re-privatising the banking sector by selling AIB and eventually Permanent TSB risks worsening any future financial crisis, an ECB working paper has warned.

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Brokers’ share of the mortgage market heading for 50pc

Brokers’ share of the mortgage market is approaching 50pc for the first time since the Celtic Tiger as fewer borrowers go direct to banks for their home loans, according to new data seen by the Irish Independent.

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Jon Ihle Opinion Banks are ceding ground to brokers as Ireland's mortgage sector shake-up intensifies

A major increase in the broker share of the mortgage market suggests something big is happening in the retail banking sector beyond the departures of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland.

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Letters to the Editor Opinion Food security should be front and centre in UN messaging

The devastating damage caused by explosive weapons, especially when used in places where many people live, is evident each night on our television screens.

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Survey shows small numbers switch their bank accounts

Only 2-5pc of people have switched banks in the last five years, according to a survey by the Department of Finance, while just under 13pc have ever considered it.

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Gallery

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ECB rate hike — what it means for you, your family and your business

Generations of Irish people cannot remember living through 1980s-style inflation.

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Lyon all fired up for digital payments growth as Ulster Bank exits Ireland

Fintech entrepreneur Colm Lyon’s digital payments company Fire is targeting between 5,000 and 10,000 business customers of Ulster Bank, which is exiting the Irish market.

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Union seeks action on ‘unrealistic’ bank timetable for exit plans from Ireland

The Financial Services Union (FSU) is calling on the Central Bank to convene a task force to oversee the exits of KBC and Ulster Bank from the Irish market, saying that the proposed timeline is “not realistic”.

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Initiative on moving accounts dismissed as ‘empty words’ amid bank exits

A commitment by the banks to adhere to principles on how they will handle the closures of Ulster and KBC banks has been dismissed as “empty words”.

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Government told to get new banks in to avoid consumers ‘being exploited’

The Government has been urged to make a concerted effort to attract foreign banks to this country to prevent consumers being exploited.

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Charlie Weston Opinion Central Bank finally acknowledges it must act to avoid mayhem with closure of Ulster and KBC

It would hardly be an exaggeration to say the Central Bank has done a U-turn. For months now, the regulators have been taking what has all the appearances of a hands-off approach to the impending closure of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland.

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Editorial Opinion Departing banks’ customers must be given reassurances

There are many ways to make a gracious exit, but neither Ulster Bank nor KBC appear to be familiar with them. A little more concern would have found them avoiding battles instead of fighting them.

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Regulator warns Ulster and KBC they will be blocked from exiting Ireland unless replacement services are in place for customers4818194

ULSTER Bank and KBC Bank Ireland have been warned by the regulator they will be stopped exiting this market if replacement banking services for their customers are not put in place.

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Sarah Carey Opinion I didn’t expect switching banks to be easy, but I started in January and I’m still at it

Some disasters you never see coming. Others you can see a mile off. When Ulster Bank and KBC announced they were pulling out of Irish retail banking, it was an obvious disaster in the making. Transferring their estimated half-a-million customers to new banks was never going to be easy.

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Gallery

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Q&A: What to do if you are an Ulster Bank or KBC customer

The closures of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland mean hundreds of thousands of people will be left without banking services unless they act soon to find new providers.

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Central Bank sits back as thousands of account holders are thrown to the wolves

It is becoming more apparent by the day that hundreds of thousands of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland customers are being thrown to the wolves.

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KBC and Ulster Bank customers are facing months of ‘chaos’ over new accounts

More than a million KBC and Ulster Bank customers face chaos as they try to switch accounts while the two institutions leave Ireland.

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Credit union hikes fees despite move to attract Ulster and KBC customers

One of the largest credit unions in the country is to increase its fees for using its current account.

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Rise in the number of people opting to switch mortgages

The number of homeowners switching mortgages has jumped significantly.

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‘To Ukraine with love’ – Irish hotels raise flags and funds to support a people in crisis

Walking through Belfast's Cathedral Quarter the other day, I stopped outside the Merchant Hotel.

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Louise McBride Opinion Making the switch – beat the looming scramble as KBC and Ulster Bank exit the market

Hundreds of thousands of bank customers will need to find new homes for their current accounts and savings in the coming months as the exodus of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank from the Irish market draws nearer.

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KBC Ireland chief moving to new Czech role ahead of bank’s expected departure

KBC Bank Ireland CEO Ales Blazek is to take over the Belgian group’s Czech business in May, ahead of the bank’s expected exit from the Irish market later this year.

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First phase of banking-sector review nearing completion

The Department of Finance is close to completing the first phase of its retail banking review with a survey into consumer attitudes towards the sector.

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Bank of Ireland boss warns of ‘challenges’ as over a million to change accounts

The roughly one million customers who will need a new current account this year as a result of the exits of Ulster Bank and KBC will create a “system wide challenge”, Bank of Ireland CEO Francesca McDonagh has warned.

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PTSB expected to highlight key points of loans takeover

Interest rate commentary, dividends and updates relating to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will be among the things to look out for this week when the three pillar banks unveil results for 2021.