Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this important debate, which is happening at a very opportune time. I wish to raise several points that relate particularly to businesses. The recent announcements by Ulster Bank and Bank of Ireland are of very significant concern for people who hold individual personal bank accounts with those banks. However, the situation for SMEs and family-run businesses is particularly concerning. Ulster Bank has a €5 billion business and a substantial corporate loan book that is made up of a significant portion of SME loans. In fact, those loans account for some 20% of the Irish SME market. That the loan book is so large is a testament to the work Ulster Bank has done over the years to make itself accessible and supportive and to encourage small business. This was achieved in large part by the fact that its branches were located on the high street and other accessible locations.

I have heard a lot of talk about the possibility of Permanent TSB or AIB purchasing Ulster Bank's loan book. Ensuring the book stays within the remit of the pillar banks is of paramount importance but any such acquisition cannot result in less favourable circumstances for small to medium enterprises and family-run businesses. Quite frankly, they just could not take that outcome. Other banks with smaller SME loan books than Ulster Bank need to up their game. There has been speculation for months that Cerberus, one of the most aggressive vulture funds in this State, is circling Ulster Bank's entire €20.5 billion loan book. That sale must be avoided at all costs. Loans and mortgages with Ulster Bank cannot be allowed to be sold to any vulture fund. Such an eventuality would make a very bad situation much worse. As my colleague, an Teachta Doherty has said, the current situation gives an opportunity to create a third force in our banking sector to compete against what would otherwise be a highly concentrated market, with the risk of higher interest rates and weaker credit availability that would involve.

Behind the conversation about loan books and so forth, there are 2,400 workers across 88 branches who have been left in a perilous situation. Everything must be done to protect their jobs. Any sale of the Ulster Bank loan book to another bank must prioritise the protection of those workers and their jobs. The key role that Ulster Bank plays in our communities, providing jobs to thousands of staff and access to mortgages, loans and credit to people and businesses, cannot be underestimated. The State has a duty to do all it can to protect those jobs and the communities in which they are located. The preference of Ulster Bank for discussions of sale with parties that can provide full banking services is welcome and should be done with the aim of retaining the jobs, experience and expertise of the Ulster Bank staff who have been disrespected throughout this entire process.

The news that Ulster Bank was leaving the Irish market after 160 years is not the only bad news for banking in this State and for workers and communities throughout the country. The announcement by Bank of Ireland that it is to close more than a third of its branches in the South and more than half in the North from September is the wrong decision and it is happening at the worst possible time. Research has found that bank branch closures reduce SME lending growth by 63% in impacted areas, rising to 104% when it is the last branch in the area. Many of the closures affect whole areas, not just the place in which the branch was located. The damage caused by such closures is multiplied by neighbouring banks also being closed. I know from speaking to my colleague, an Teachta Funchion, that the closure of two branches that are scarcely 10 km apart, one in Borris in County Carlow and the other in Graiguenamanagh in County Kilkenny, will, in effect, wipe out Bank of Ireland banking for the whole of south Carlow. On the Kilkenny side, the closure of branches in Graiguenamanagh and Thomastown will wipe out Bank of Ireland banking for a whole swathe of that county. It is the same right across the board. These closures are targeting entire areas and caught in the crossfire are customers, small to medium enterprises, family-run businesses, farmers and staff.

Bank of Ireland has attempted to justify its announcement based on a fall in branch visits over the past 12 months. That fall is hardly surprising when every business is experiencing a reduction in footfall while people are told to stay at home. It should not be used as an excuse to shut branches. The bank is using it for cover when, in reality, it is punishing customers for following the public health regulations. It is not just a cynical move; it is a slap in the face that will hurt customers, staff and communities. Taxpayers poured €4.7 billion into Bank of Ireland during the financial crisis. The least the Irish people deserve from the bank is a little bit of respect. Sinn Féin supports the call by the Financial Services Union for a moratorium on branch closures until the end of 2022, by which time, we hope, the pandemic will be over.

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