ULSTER Bank is to close two of its four Limerick branches as part of a nationwide cutback that will see a fifth of its branches closed down by the end of September.
ULSTER Bank is to close two of its four Limerick branches as part of a nationwide cutback that will see a fifth of its branches closed down by the end of September.The Limerick branches scheduled for closure are at Castletroy and Newcastle West which will leave the bank with just two branches in the city at the Crescent shopping Centre and O’Connell Street,
As part of a major restructuring, 22 of the bank’s least-used branches are set to close, resulting in the loss of 220 jobs. The bank has said it hopes redundancies will be voluntary and assured customers that supports will be put in place to assist affected customers. Nearly two-thirds of the bank’s transactions are now online.
Ulster Bank chief executive Gerry Mallon says the closures were a response to changing customer demand.
“The role of the branch continues to move away from day-to-day transactions, with only 10 per cent of our customer interaction now happening in the branch,” he explained.
“Closing a branch is a difficult decision which we do not take lightly, and our branch network remains an important part of how we serve our customers.”
Limerick Sinn Féin TD and Spokesperson on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Maurice Quinlivan has called out Minister Mary Mitchell O’Connor, on her silence about mounting job losses announced all over the country in the past number of weeks.
“Ulster Bank’s announcement of 220 job losses and its closure of 22 branches, two of which are located in Limerick, is terrible news for staff, and residents who depend on these branches in their local areas. Ulster Bank made a profit of €280 million in Ireland last year. Against this backdrop, it is hard to comprehend the closure of so many branches, and the loss of over 200 staff,” said Deputy Quinlivan.
“These job losses are going to have an immediate negative impact on workers and their families, but also on the local economy and availability of services. I know personally that many people depend on the branches in Castletroy and Newcastle West for their banking needs, and this closure will mean Ulster Bank will no longer have a presence in Limerick outside the city,” he concluded.
by Alan Jacques
alan@limerickpost.ie
