ICC Bank staff could receive shareholdings worth £100,000

Staff with ICC Bank are likely to receive shareholdings worth more than £100,000 each under proposals made yesterday by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy.

MSF, the union representing staff at ICC Bank, is recommending acceptance by the 358 staff of the offer for the purchase of a 14.9 per cent shareholding in the bank.

The workforce will receive shareholdings worth more than £100,000 each if the bank sells for £250 million, which is at the lower end of the prices being predicted for the sale of the State-owned bank.

However, according to MSF, the trust which would hold the shares on behalf of the staff would have taken out a commercial loan of £15 million to purchase the £37.5 million worth of shares, so the after-loan value of the shares would be approximately £61,400 per worker.

Under the terms of the offer, the trust will hold the shares for at least three years before it begins to distribute shares not burdened by debt.

The staff are to purchase 5 per cent of the shareholding by way of an agreement on changes to work practices. Under these changes, new owners will have the option of seeking the voluntary redundancy of 20 per cent of the staff.

The new owners will also purchase a commitment towards the implementation of longer opening hours and flexibility in relation to remote stations for sales staff. Staff are also to commit themselves to developing new products with the new owner.

According to a spokesman for MSF, these agreements will add to the value of the bank.

The remaining 9.9 per cent shareholding is to be bought by the staff through the introduction of a 6.5 per cent deduction from their wages for contributions towards a pension fund. This measure has been valued at £8.3 million. A loan is to be taken out for the balance. The loan is likely to vary between £20 million and £23.7 million and will be finalised at the time of the sale.

Under the terms of the agreement, the higher the price received for the bank, the more profitable the deal for the workers becomes.

The purchaser is to be required under the terms of the deal to give a guarantee to maintain the staff's existing terms and conductions, including pensions, and that there will be no compulsory redundancies.

Mr McCreevy said he "very much welcomed" the decision of the union to recommend acceptance of the terms for the employee share option plan. "It is my hope that this positive response by the committee will be resoundingly endorsed by staff and that the bank's transfer to the private sector will be accomplished quickly."