Ulster Bank to cut branch services ahead of departure

Ulster Bank is to close counters in all of its branches at 1pm from the start of July, as it prepares for its withdrawal from the Irish market.

The move is among a number of changes announced today to its branch services and mortgage operations.

It said the lunchtime closure of its counter service will allow staff to concentrate on helping customers face-to-face, who may need support ahead of the closure.

The bank has said it plans to begin writing to current and deposit customers in the coming weeks, to give them six months notice to choose a new bank and close their Ulster Bank account.

From 1 July, the bank will also stop counter foreign exchange services, meaning it will no longer offer foreign exchange cash and FX drafts – but it said customers can still lodge foreign cheques.

It will also stop offering nightsafe services.

Mortgage changes

The bank also announced a number of changes to its mortgage operations.

At the end of October, Ulster Bank stopped all new business for personal customers.

However, customers were still able to continue to apply for a mortgage – as some exceptions applied.

In the next step in its phased withdrawal from the market, the bank said it will close to new mortgage applications from existing customers from 10 June, and it will no longer offer approval in principal for existing customers from 29 April.

Ulster Bank said there are no changes to new product availability for existing business customers.

In a statement today, the bank said that customers are not obliged to take any action until they hear from Ulster Bank.

It said while customers don’t need to come into an Ulster Bank branch, their branches will remain open throughout this process to ensure customers can receive face-to-face help and support.

In this context, the bank said it does not expect a bank-wide redundancy programme to open in the first half of this year, but there may be smaller team-based programmes as work in those areas conclude.

After Ulster Bank customers receive the initial communication in the coming weeks, the bank said customers will be prompted at various times over their six-month notice period, through reminder text messages, prompts on their mobile app and internet banking as well as follow-up letters, emails and calls.

If at the end of this six-month period a customer has not moved their account, the bank said the account will be frozen and within a month a cheque will be issued for the account balance, less any fees, stamp duty payable.

Ulster Bank has around 360,000 active personal current accounts.

It said 300,000 are personal deposit accounts, 155,000 of whom do not have a current account with them.

“These customers are likely to have a current account elsewhere and therefore have an existing relationship with another provider and may not require to be onboarded elsewhere,” the bank said in a statement.

70,000 are business current and deposit accounts.

Ulster Bank said these customers will also receive a ‘Choose-Move-Close’ letter or email from them shortly – the majority of which are active current accounts.

The bank encouraged customers who need additional support, are in financial difficulty or in a vulnerable position to call them on 1800 656 001.

“We know this will be a busy period ahead for customers and we will reach out to as many as possible in the coming weeks and months to ensure that they are aware of the changes and to offer them help and support,” said Ulster Bank Chief Executive Jane Howard.

“We encourage customers to consider the many different types of accounts and services on offer as they research their choice and the CCPC website is very useful in exploring the switching process and the different types of accounts on offer,” she added.