Ulster Bank to shut 20 branches in 2013

CRISIS-HIT Ulster Bank is to shut up to 20 branches and sub offices north and south of the border this year.

It said it was part of a review of its branch network in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

In a statement on the Thursday, the bank, which posted £242 million of losses in the third quarter of last year, said it wanted to ensure that its branches were “operating in the correct locations for our customers”.

“As part of this review we will be closing in the region of 20 branches and sub offices on the island of Ireland in 2013,” Ulster Bank said in a statement on Thursday.

“We expect to be in a position to provide further details in the next few weeks and will communicate directly with our customers and employees at that time.”

Last year Ulster Bank revealed it paid out over £18m to almost 300,000 Northern Irish customers after a technical glitch left them without proper access to their bank accounts for weeks over the summer.

The bank is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland which is 40 per cent owned by the taxpayer after it received a massive bail out of public funds.