RBS review unlikely to raise Ulster bank closures

Royal Bank of Scotland is not expected to disclose specific job losses or branch closures for Ulster Bank when it releases the results of its group-wide strategic review on Thursday.

Instead, RBS chief executive Ross McEwan is likely to outline the strategic direction of the business and some customer-facing initiatives. He is likely to state RBS’s commitment to retail, business and corporate banking in the UK and Ireland, and unveil a major investment in technology designed to regain the confidence of customers following a series of outages over the past two years.

One source said there would be no “big bang” announcement by RBS on Thursday.

However, this is not to suggest there will be no job cuts or branch closures at Ulster Bank in the next couple of years. Last July, RBS indicated to investors that its branch network here is likely to reduce to between 175 and 185 locations, North and South, from 214. At present, only about 16 per cent of transactions take place in branches, with the balance at ATM machines, online or via telephone or mobile devices.

Fewer locations
The bank's view is that while it will retain a national branch network, it can do this from fewer locations.

In relation to its headcount, RBS indicated it could drop to between 4,000 and 4,500 full-time equivalents from a level of about 5,600 currently. It said there would be fewer organisational layers and “highly efficient and effective decision-making processes”.

It is not clear how the job losses will be achieved. Like most businesses, Ulster Bank has a natural rate of attrition each year.

No comment was available from Ulster Bank last night.