![Ulster Bank, Longford](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Ulster_Bank%2C_Longford.jpg)
Ulster Bank ( ga, Banc Uladh) is a large retail bank, and one of the traditional
Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities:
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, i ...
, trading as Ulster Bank (registered in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
and operating in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
); and Ulster Bank Ireland
dac (UBIDAC – registered in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
). The headquarters of Ulster Bank in the Republic of Ireland are located on
George's Quay
George's Quay is a street and Dublin quays, quay in Dublin on the southern bank of the River Liffey. It is located between Corn Exchange (Dublin), Burgh Quay and Hawkins Street to the west, and City Quay (Dublin), City Quay and Talbot Memorial B ...
,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, whilst the headquarters of Ulster Bank Northern Ireland are in
Donegall Square
Donegall Square is a square in the centre of Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In the centre is Belfast City Hall, the headquarters of Belfast City Council. Each side of the square is named according to its geographical location, i.e. Do ...
East,
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, and it maintains a large sector of the financial services in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Established in 1836, Ulster Bank was acquired by the
London County and Westminster Bank
Westminster Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1834 until its merger into the National Westminster Bank in 1970; it continued to exist as a dormant registered non-trading company until 4 July 2017 when it ...
in 1917. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, i ...
(NatWest), it became part of the
Royal Bank of Scotland Group
NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
(RBS Group) in 2000. RBS Group was renamed
NatWest Group
NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
in 2020. However, the Ulster Bank brand is used on the island of
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The bank has 146 branches in the Republic of Ireland and 90 in Northern Ireland, with over 1,200 non-charging ATMs. It has over 3,000 employees and over 1.9 million clients.
On 19 February 2021, NatWest Group announced a phased withdrawal of all banking activity and associated services within the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
. On 3 May 2021, the business of Ulster Bank Limited in Northern Ireland was transferred to the parent National Westminster Bank as part of a court-approved Banking Business Transfer Scheme.
History
![Merchant Hotel - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Merchant_Hotel_-_geograph.org.uk_-_485099.jpg)
Ulster Bank was founded as The Ulster Banking Company in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
,
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
, in 1836, by a breakaway faction of shareholders in the newly formed National Bank of Ireland, which had been founded in 1835, who objected to the latter bank's plan to invest profits from the bank in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
rather than in Belfast. The founding directors of the bank were John Heron, Robert Grimshaw, John Currell, who was a linen bleacher from
Ballymena
Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim.
The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...
, and James Steen, a Belfast pork curer.
Note destruction
In 2002, three Ulster Bank employees were arrested on charges of theft and money laundering. The three were responsible for the destruction of old banknotes at the bank's former Waring Street cash centre. Between November 2001 and February 2002, they were accused of stealing approximately UK£900,000 of used banknotes designated for disposal. The money was then placed in various bank and building society accounts. On 23 January 2004, the men were jailed for two and a half years for the theft of £770,000.
Lord Chief Justice
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
Sir Brian Kerr criticised the bank's security measures during the trial.
First Active
In 2003–04, Ulster Bank Group purchased
First Active
First Active was an Irish bank, and former building society which was merged into Ulster Bank in late 2009, ceasing trading in February 2010. It traditionally offered a range of mortgages (including subprime mortgages), savings, investment, ...
, Ireland's oldest
building society
A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingd ...
, for €887 million. In 2009, the First Active branch network and business of several hundred thousand savers and borrowers was merged with Ulster Bank, and the brand name was retired in 2010.
Computer failure
In June 2012, a computer system failure prevented customers from accessing accounts. Initial estimates that the problem would be sorted out within a week were wildly optimistic, with thousands of customers still unable to access their accounts into late July 2012, with ongoing issues still not resolved by mid-August 2012. This RBS / NatWest / Ulster Bank issue has proved to be one of the largest IT failures the world has ever known. Ulster Bank (the smallest part of the RBS group) was to initially set aside £28 million for compensation to customers.
Tracker mortgage scandal
In the Republic of Ireland from 2008, Ulster Bank Ireland dac encouraged customers on
tracker mortgages to switch to the more-profitable
fixed rate mortgages as interest rates on tracker mortgages, which is set to the
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#Intern ...
borrowing rate plus 1%, reduced significantly due to the
2008 financial crisis. As part of this, mortgage customers were not told about the risks of moving to a fixed rate, and were instead encouraged with the offer of constant mortgage repayments and interest. Other customers were offered a temporary switch to a fixed rate mortgage, with the promise of being moved back to a tracker rate after a time period, which did not occur until customers complained as per a company policy introduced in 2011.
In 2015, the
Central Bank of Ireland opened an investigation into the lenders which sold tracker mortgages, finding
KBC Bank Ireland
KBC Bank Ireland plc is a bank in Ireland with offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Belfast.
It was established in 1972 as ''Irish Intercontinental Bank''. In 1978 KBC Bank, which is headquartered in Brussels, acquired a 75% ...
,
Permanent TSB
Permanent TSB Group Holdings plc, formerly Irish Life and Permanent plc is a provider of personal financial services in Ireland. Irish Life Assurance plc and the Irish Permanent Building Society merged to form the Irish Life and Permanent Group ...
,
Bank of Ireland and
AIB were also among those complicit in denying customers correct rates.
On 25 March 2021, the Central Bank of Ireland fined Ulster Bank Ireland DAC €37.774 million, after discovering 5,940 customers had been directly affected by the scandal, along with 49 separate regulatory breaches.
Future
![Ulster Bank, Market Street, Cootehill - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Ulster_Bank%2C_Market_Street%2C_Cootehill_-_geograph.org.uk_-_3750034.jpg)
In March 2014, it was reported that the then RBS Group was considering merging the bank in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
with some of its rivals in order to reduce its holding. RBS Group's annual results for 2013 revealed Ulster Bank had operating losses of £1.5 billion and accounted for a fifth of the parent group's total bad debt charges. In October 2014, RBS confirmed it would retain Ulster Bank following improved market conditions in Ireland.
In September 2020, ''
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
'' reported that NatWest was considering closing all Ulster Bank operations in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, a process that would take around six years. The bank would continue to operate in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
In February 2021, following an extensive review,
NatWest Group
NatWest Group plc is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The group operates a wide variety of banking brands offering personal and business banking, private banking, investment banking, insurance and ...
confirmed plans to withdraw Ulster Bank from the Republic of Ireland, with a "phased withdrawal" over the "coming years".
Ulster Bank will begin freezing certain current and deposit accounts in the Republic of Ireland on 11 November 2022, which will be closed 30 days later, as part of its staggered process of eventually closing all such accounts. Twenty-five of their branches will close on 6 and 13 January 2023 and will be taken over by
Permanent TSB
Permanent TSB Group Holdings plc, formerly Irish Life and Permanent plc is a provider of personal financial services in Ireland. Irish Life Assurance plc and the Irish Permanent Building Society merged to form the Irish Life and Permanent Group ...
.
Services
![Ulster bank, Donegal Town - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Ulster_bank%2C_Donegal_Town_-_geograph.org.uk_-_2559000.jpg)
Ulster Bank provide a full range of banking and insurance services to personal, business and commercial customers.
In Northern Ireland, as a trading name of National Westminster Bank PLC, the bank is authorised by the
Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the
Financial Conduct Authority
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulation, financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The ...
and the Prudential Regulation Authority. National Westminster Bank PLC is a member of the
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK's statutory deposit insurance and investors compensation scheme for customers of authorised financial services firms. This means that FSCS can pay compensation if a firm is unable, or li ...
and
UK Finance
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. In the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
, the bank is regulated by the
Central Bank of Ireland.
The bank provides a
Debit Mastercard
Debit Mastercard is a brand of debit cards provided by Mastercard. They use the same systems as standard Mastercard credit cards but they do not use a line of credit to the customer, instead relying on funds that the customer has in their bank ...
to customers with their current accounts, in addition to other financial services. It launched 15 new commitments to its retail customers in September 2010.
Corporate identity
![20130811 malahide230](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/20130811_malahide230.JPG)
From 1968 until 2005, Ulster Bank used the three arrowheads device of
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, i ...
, its owner. The bank adopted the RBS "daisy wheel" logo and typeface design in October 2005. The bank is one of the four banks that issue
pound sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
banknote
A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes w ...
s in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
Banknotes
In common with the other Big Four banks of
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, Ulster Bank retains the right to issue its own banknotes. These are
pound sterling
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
notes and equal in value to
Bank of England notes, and should not be confused with banknotes of the former
Irish pound.
Ulster Bank's current notes all share the same design of a view of
Belfast Harbour
Belfast Harbour is a major maritime hub in Belfast, Northern Ireland, handling 67% of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade and about 25% of the maritime trade of the entire island of Ireland. It is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and c ...
flanked by landscape views; the design of the reverse is dominated by the bank's coat of arms. The principal difference between the denominations is their colour and size. Notes incorporate a foil patch security feature depicting the bank's logo.
* 5 pound note, grey
* 10 pound note, blue-green
* 20 pound note, purple
* 50 pound note, blue
In November 2006, Ulster Bank issued its first commemorative banknote – an issue of one million £5 notes commemorating the first anniversary of the death of former
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
and
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
footballer,
George Best
George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United. A highly skilful dribbler, Best is regarded as one of the greatest p ...
. This was the first Ulster Bank banknote to incorporate the RBS "daisy wheel", and the entire issue was taken by collectors within hours of becoming available in bank branches.
In 2019, Ulster Bank issued a new series of banknotes printed in polymer, which replaced its paper equivalents that were previously in circulation.
Sponsorship
On 8 February 2008, Ulster Bank Group Chief Executive, Cormac McCarthy, announced a three-year sponsorship deal worth over £1 million for the
Belfast Festival at Queen's
Belfast International Arts Festival, formerly known as Belfast Festival at Queen’s, claims to be the city’s longest running international arts event.
Originally established in 1962, it was hosted by Queen’s University until 2015, after whi ...
. It was hailed as a "new dawn" for the festival which had been suffering underfunding.
Ulster Bank was the first overall sponsor of The
Balmoral Show The Balmoral Show is Northern Ireland's largest agri-food event. It takes place during May in Balmoral Park, Lisburn.
Sponsored by Ulster Bank, it typically includes showjumping competitions, motorcycle displays, bands, shopping, tasting, a child ...
in 2009, Northern Ireland's largest agricultural show.
Ulster Bank announced official sponsorship of the GAA
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...
in April 2008.
See also
*
NatWest Holdings
NatWest Holdings is an intermediate holding company for the NatWest Group's retail banking interests in the United Kingdom.
It was established in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Financial Se ...
*
NatWest Markets
NatWest Markets is the investment banking arm of NatWest Group.
It was created from the then RBS Group's corporate and institutional banking division in 2016, as part of a structural reform intended to comply with the requirements of the Finan ...
References
External links
Ulster Bank GroupUlster Bank Northern IrelandUlster Bank Ireland DAC''Registered in the Republic of Ireland, No. 25766''
{{Authority control
Banks established in 1836
Banks of Northern Ireland
NatWest Group
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
Banks of Ireland
1836 establishments in Ireland
Brands of Northern Ireland
Banks under direct supervision of the European Central Bank
Irish subsidiaries of foreign companies