Ulster Unionist MLAs took the opportunity to question Ulster Bank senior managers at Thursday morning's Enterprise, Trade & Investment committee at Stormont.

Speaking after the meeting, Economy spokesperson and Mid-Ulster MLA Sandra Overend said; "I welcome the fact that the Ulster Bank sent such a senior team to appear in front of the Committee. There was a frank exchange of views and some in depth questioning and I feel they provided us with more information than had previously been the case.

This episode has been an absolute disaster for Ulster Bank. They were slow to respond, slow to explain the situation and in particular were slow to explain exactly what the problem was and why it had occurred. Deadlines kept moving and people simply did not know where they stood.

I challenged the Ulster Bank as to whether or not they had learned from these communication failures, in relation to both customers and their staff in the branches.

The Committee will be contacting business organisations to establish the full scale of the impact of this dreadful situation and we look forward to meeting with Ulster Bank again following the outcome of their promised internal review. My sympathies lie entirely with those customers who have faced real hardship and inconvenience in personal and business lives. Lessons must be learned so that this is situation can never happen again.

East Antrim MLA and Finance committee member Roy Beggs MLA said:

"It appears that finally a significant amount of effort is being expended by Ulster Bank and RBS management in trying to resolve this issue and providing additional information to customers through the additional 100 staff that have been drafted in to support local customers. Front line staff must be commended for their efforts to assist customers given the almost impossible situation that they have been placed in since the loss of the banking IT system."

"The Ulster Bank crisis has come at huge cost to customers, individual businesses and even non-Ulster Bank customers who are awaiting payment from individuals and businesses who bank with the Ulster Bank.  It will also have come at a considerable cost to the Ulster Bank itself. It would be wholly unacceptable if senior executives were to accept bonuses following this fiasco, particularly when the Bank is itself in public ownership."

-ENDS-



Ulster Unionist Party

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