06/07/2012

Ulster Bank Boss To Skip Bonus

The chief executive of Ulster Bank has confirmed he will not be taking his bonus this year.

Jim Brown's decision to forego the annual payment comes as thousands of customers in Northern Ireland and the Republic are still affected by a computer failure that happened weeks ago.

Customers have been unable to access funds and account balances have not been up to date.

Mr Brown, who fielded questions on the topic for days by saying he was only focussed on restoring normal service, has now said he is committed to regaining trust from customers.

He said: "I have therefore informed the Ulster Bank board that I do not wish to be considered for an annual bonus award."

He also pledged an independent inquiry and said customers would be awarded compensation.

The bank was thrown into disarray on the night of Tuesday June 19 when a maintenance error in Edinburgh at the bank’s parents group RBS caused automatic transaction processing to fail.

Knock-on effects have delayed the accounts from getting back to normal.

And customers have expressed annoyance at repeated assurances that full service would resume on particular dates, which came and went with many still unable to access accounts.

Ulster Bank lines were jammed as people tried to get through for help and although branches were open extra hours so customers could pick cash up in person, this left customers abroad in the lurch.

Chris Sullivan of RBS said 100 people had been brought to Northern Ireland to work on the problems.

(NE)

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