FSU seeks clarity on Central Bank and BPFI announcement of stakeholder engagement model

Terms of reference and list of stakeholders of Customer Transition Working Group should be published – says FSU

John O’Connell, General Secretary of the Financial Services Union (FSU) has today contacted the Central Bank in relation to their announcement of a stakeholder engagement model to oversee the exits of KBC and Ulster Bank from the Irish retail banking market.

The Central Bank and BPFI both issued press statements earlier today announcing that the BPFI would be setting up a Customer Transition Working Group involving multiple stakeholders to oversee the exits of KBC and UB. The announcement came after a meeting of the CEOs of the main retail Banks and the Central Bank.

Commenting on the announcement John O’Connell said:

“The FSU along with other stakeholders and politicians have consistently called for a special taskforce to be established to support customers, business, and staff through what we have termed the biggest logistical change to occur in the sector since the introduction of the EURO. In recent correspondence to the FSU the Central Bank confirmed that an inclusive forum would be established by the BPFI, and that the FSU would be invited to participate.

Today’s announcement of the forum is a first step, but BPFI needs to provide assurances to ensure this is a genuine attempt by the Banks to engage constructively with other stakeholders.

As a starting point the terms of reference of the group and the list of stakeholders to be invited should be published. The work of the group needs to be inclusive and transparent.

Customers, business, and staff deserve the reassurances that this working group has the capacity to deal with problems as they arise and will work in a collaborative way.

The FSU will be meeting with the Central Bank to look for those reassurances and will be reaching out to the BPFI asking them to publish the terms of reference and the list of participants.

It is vital for the economy and business that the exits of both Banks are handled in an orderly fashion and the FSU is more than willing to play its part

ENDS