Ulster Bank : A Statement from RBS

At Ulster Bank – it looks like it could be a few more days until accounts are all sorted out.

This is an extract from the latest statement from RBS on the problems at Ulster Bank. Followed by a personal apology from  Stephen Hester Group Chief Executive. Monday 2nd July 12 noon.

“Ulster Bank advises customers that it is making steady inroads to the delays in its payments systems caused by a technology problem at its RBS parent group. The pace of progress is improving though of course has been slower than we or our customers would have liked. We are grateful to our customers for their patience while we work hard to restore a normal service level”

“Unfortunately for our customers in Ireland, Ulster Bank payments follow in sequence after those of NatWest and RBS. This is because of the way the technology was set-up at the time the 3 banks were integrated. It in no way reflects the priority we attach to our Ulster Bank customers and we regret any confusion this might have caused.”

“Over this weekend, steady progress was made in starting to bring the Ulster Bank batch processing up to date. The key now is to catch up on the backlog.

We target that customers should see their balances updating during the coming week. However, normal service will take some further time as our experience from dealing with the same issues in the UK suggests that there may be bumps along the road. We will do everything we can to manage the continued inconvenience this may cause to our customers.”

Customers in Ireland rightly expect better from us than the service problems experienced as a result of this incident. We are committed to ensuring that no one will be left permanently out of pocket as a result of this. Our Ulster Bank branches have been open for extended hours all week and our call centres have significantly higher numbers of staff available to answer calls. We are asking any customers affected by this issue to contact us and we will do all we can to help.”

Apology to Ulster Bank Customers from Stephen Hester Group Chief Executive

“I want to apologise to our Ulster Bank customers for the significant inconvenience caused by these technology problems. I recognise that being sorry is not enough; we believe we have fixed the initial problem and are now making inroads in catching up with the knock-on effects to our customers in Ulster Bank. My colleagues and I are fully committed in support of our Board, management and staff in Ireland who have been tireless in their efforts to support our customers. We recognise that we are important to Ireland. And Ireland is important to us. We have been steadfast in supporting customers in Ulster Bank through the financial crisis, maintaining a full banking service as others have left the banking market. We will continue to meet our responsibilities and ensure we restore normal support to our customers.”