Implications vague for Irish Nationwide workers

FALLOUT FOR STAFF:THE GOVERNMENT'S announcement on the auction of deposits from Irish Nationwide to another financial institution "fails to shed any light" on the implications for staff in the institution, the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA) said yesterday.

The IBOA said it was concerned by the decision of Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan to authorise the auction of the Irish Nationwide deposits to the highest bidder, alongside those of Anglo Irish Bank, saying the move went against previous expectations that the deposits would be transferred to another Irish institution as part of a strategic restructuring of the banking sector.

“It appears now that the Minister values short-term expediency more than the long-term stability of the financial services sector in Ireland,” said IBOA general secretary Larry Broderick.

The daily work of branch staff at Irish Nationwide, who the IBOA represents, involved “substantial interaction with depositors”, Mr Broderick noted.

“The staff of Irish Nationwide must not be treated as collateral damage in the effort to resolve the horrendous difficulties created by the previous senior management of INBS – most of whom appear to have walked away largely unscathed from the havoc they have wrought.”

The Department of Finance said yesterday: “The position of employees in the business areas of the two institutions that will be affected by the transfer of deposits and assets will be safeguarded as appropriate in accordance with applicable employment legislation.”

The IBOA said it had sought urgent meetings with executives from Irish Nationwide and the National Treasury Management Agency for more detail on the likely consequences for employees of the deposit auction and planned merger of the institution with Anglo Irish Bank.

The merger is part of the process of winding down the banks.

Meanwhile, the Department of Finance said Anglo’s wealth management division would be sold by March 31st, while the bank’s offices in the UK and its branches in Dusseldorf, Vienna and Jersey would be closed.