Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue because it is one that affects hundreds of thousands of people, especially since Ulster Bank announced its withdrawal from the Irish market as part of the NatWest group, and KBC has announced likewise. The retail financial services sector is going through a major period of change. In the past year, we have seen a number of announcements from the main retail banks regarding their operations in the State, including reductions in the branch network throughout the country. While decisions relating to the business models of regulated firms are commercial matters for the boards of those organisations, the Department of Finance, the Minister and the Central Bank cannot interfere with those commercial decisions. We can, however, ask them to ensure a consumer-focused approach is their top priority when dealing with affected customers.

On the specific issue of the banks leaving the market, the Minister, officials and I met with a range of providers of retail banking services last month, particularly in respect of current accounts, including the remaining banks, An Post and credit unions, to discuss what they will do for impacted customers. The Irish retail banking system is concentrated by international standards but that does not necessarily mean competition does not exist between those particular players. The changes that have recently taken place in the Irish retail banking sector are a reflection of the wider challenges the banking sector is facing, not only in Ireland but abroad, and because of these changes the Minister has instructed the Department to undertake a broad-ranging review of the retail banking sector.

The issues raised by the Deputy will be considered by the review currently under way as part of this work in assessing the current landscape for the provision of retail banking services in Ireland and its likely evolution over the coming years. The team will also look at the size and structure of the sector in Ireland and similar-sized open economies in the EU and OECD. That report will be published later this year.

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