THE chair of Ulster Bank’s parent NatWest has told shareholders that the group could not see any way of making its Republic of Ireland network profitable.
Howard Davies faced questions from shareholders during the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Edinburgh on Tuesday, four days after the shutters came down on the final 63 Ulster Bank branches in the Republic.
NatWest announced its plan for a phased withdrawal from the Republic in 2021.
Since then, the group has sold off Ulster Bank’s loan book. On Friday, the final 63 Ulster bank branches across the border were closed for the final time, with the loss of 450 jobs.
ATM services are due to end three weeks after the cessation of all in-branch transactions.
NatWest bosses faced some criticism for the Ulster Bank decision in the Republic during Tuesday’s AGM.
Mr Davies said: "Our conclusion was that, after many years of losses in Ireland, we could not see our way of making that network profitable.
"Therefore, it was going to use up shareholder resources indefinitely."
The NatWest chairman also told the AGM that "poor risk management" and "long-standing" challenges were to blame for the failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Credit Suisse which sparked concerns over the strength of the global banking industry.
Mr Davies told shareholders: "NatWest Group, by contrast, has built a robust and resilient balance sheet with strong capital and liquidity, a largely secured retail loan book and well-diversified commercial lending."
The banking giant acknowledged the impact of cost-of-living pressures on households and its customers.
Mr Davies added: "While there are some grounds for cautious optimism, with employment remaining high, the economic environment will remain challenging for some time to come, with expected further tightening of consumer spending and real incomes, which will put pressure on household budgets.
"The UK may or may not experience a technical recession in 2023 - economic forecasters differ on that point - but the economy is unlikely to grow significantly."
