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Ulster says go: Bank s decision to exit was in the wind but why is it happening now?
Ulster Bank’s long goodbye creates major headaches for policymakers. By Ian Curran Friday 19 Feb 2021, 8:50 AM Feb 19th 2021, 8:50 AM 32,947 Views 31 Comments
Image: Sam Boal
NEVER A DULL moment with Irish banks.
And yet NatWest Group’s decision to wind down Ulster Bank in the Republic of Ireland over the next few years falls into the category of surprising but not unexpected news.
Since last September, it’s been public knowledge that the UK bank was mulling an exit from the market in the 26 counties. A strategic review undertaken by Ulster Bank’s British parent has now paved the way for a gradual wind-down of the bank’s 88 branches in the Republic, where some 2,800 jobs are affected.
Updated: 6 Feb 2021, 23:54
USING a credit or debit card when paying for online purchases is relatively safe but there are lots of things to look out for if you want to reduce your chances of being the victim of fraud.
Concerns about security don’t seem to be too much of a barrier to buying online: figures from Eurostat indicate that just 4% of people in Ireland did not shop online in 2019 because of payment security or privacy concerns, such as fraudulent use of payment card details.
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Recie Breen, head of credit cards at Bank of IrelandCredit: Fennell Photography
This compares with 6% of people in the EU overall and 23% of people in Portugal.
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Gaeilge, Gaeltacht, Arts and Culture Aengus Ó Snodaigh has welcomed Fine Gael’s u-turn on Sinn Féin s call for an additional yearly bank holiday.
Teachta Ó Snodaigh brought forward a Bill in 2016 for April 24th to be declared a public holiday, marking the anniversary of the Easter Rising. Lá na Poblachta or Republic Day would serve as a national holiday in acknowledgement of the sacrifices of the men, women and children who kept this nation alive for many centuries, those who fought to establish the Republic and the need to implement the republican ideals set out in the Proclamation .
Irish mortgage lending in 2020 ahead of expectations at â¬8.4bn
Written by Robert McHugh, on 29th Jan 2021. Posted in Ireland
The latest mortgage market statistics published this morning from the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) shows that first-time buyers led the rebound in the mortgage market in the second half of 2020 and contributed to a much better performance than expected.
While the current lockdown may delay completions somewhat, the surge in mortgage approvals in the fourth quarter points to significant pent-up demand.
Mortgage approvals for house purchase continued to recover strongly in December, with volumes growing by 36% year on year (yoy). With the average loan size growing, this led to a 42% yoy increase in the value of approvals.