Ulster Bank confirms closure date of all bank branches in Republic of Ireland

All Ulster Bank branches in the Republic of Ireland will close in April, it has been confirmed. 

In a statement, the bank said on the 31st of March 2023, all Ulster Bank Ireland DAC branches will cease transactional services other than transactions to support with account closure requests.

On 21st April 2023, all Ulster Bank Branches in the Republic of Ireland will permanently close.

Ulster Bank services through An Post outlets will cease on 31st March 2023.

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Details of the cessation of services are as follows:

Branches will cease transactional services other than transactions to support with account closure requests on the 31st of March 2023.

Customers will no longer be able to make cash/cheque lodgements either at the counter or through internal automation devices or any form of withdrawal at this or any other Ulster Bank branch (with the exception of ATM services).

There will be no counter Foreign Exchange services.

“Today is another significant day in our phased withdrawal as we communicate the closure dates of our remaining branches to colleagues, customers and other stakeholders,” chief executive Jane Howard said.

“By the time we close our branches, we know that the closure of current and deposit accounts will have materially concluded,” she added.

The confirmation of the branch closure date has been described as "bad for consumers and bad for business" by John O’Connell, General Secretary of the Financial Services Union (FSU)

Commenting on the announcement Mr O’Connell said: “The latest figures published by the Central Bank (CB) showed 674,780 accounts still open in Ulster Bank and KBC with nearly 300,000 of those accounts deemed by the banks to be active accounts and nearly 200,000 to be the customer’s primary account.

"We await this month’s figures from the CB but it is clear there will still be hundreds of thousands of people with active Ulster Bank accounts. It is incomprehensible to think the Central Bank are going to stand by and watch hundreds of thousands of people be forcefully rebanked over the next ten weeks.

"The FSU have long called for the exit timelines to be extended and for customers and staff to be treated with dignity and respect. The announcement by Ulster Bank today shows a complete lack of understanding and awareness from the Bank of the upheaval that the exit of Ulster Bank is having on staff and customers.

"We know from figures supplied by the BPFI and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) that large amounts of people are struggling with changing direct debits. We also know KBC, the smaller bank has given timelines of end of August for its closure. Why do Ulster Bank with over 1 million customers continue to persist with the notion they can orchestrate an orderly exit by end March?" Mr O'Connell said. 

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He noted that the recent banking review report recommended banks give six months’ notice to the Central Bank of its intention to close branches.

"The Central Bank needs to inform us if this recommendation, which has been adopted by Government, has been implemented by the Central Bank and what notice did Ulster Bank give of its decision to close its remaining 63 branches," Mr O'Connell said.

"The view of the Dail Finance Committee, as stated in their recent banking report is the culture in the banks has not improved or changed since the financial crash. In this instance the actions of Ulster Bank seem to be proving them right.

"It is time for the Central Bank and politicians to find their voice and stand up for consumers and staff and instruct Ulster Bank to set realistic and achievable timelines so we can achieve an orderly exit of both Ulster Bank and KBC," Mr O'Connell said.