I had a short meeting with the president of Irish Bankers' Federation, Mr. John Collins, on 5 July last. I gave a brief update on the state of play on the proposed new financial regulator, the Asset Covered Securities Bill, 2001 and the Dormant Accounts Bill, 2001. The substantive issue discussed at our meeting was the code of practice on branch restructuring, customer communications and relations, developed by the IBF and the Irish Mortgage and Savings Association. I would remind the House that I have no statutory function in regard to decisions relating to the location or size of bank branch networks, which are the prerogative of credit institutions themselves. They must be free to make decisions on the maintenance, closure or opening of branches based on their own commercial criteria.
The key elements of the code of practice in relation to branch restructuring include a minimum notice period of two months before bank branches would be closed and, in the interest of good customer and community relations, a commitment to give an explanation of the reasons for closing individual branches. The code was published on 16 July and copies are available from banks and from the IBF website. Retail banks and building societies have agreed to be bound by the code. I welcome the code of practice as a positive step towards alleviating some of the difficulties which arise when local banks close.
I accept that banks must react to changing commercial circumstances and the opportunities offered by new technology, such as telephone and internet banking. However, despite the commitment under the code of practice to begin a process of familiarising customers with alternative banking facilities, the way in which certain changes have recently been introduced by some banks is to be regretted. It is imperative that financial institutions have regard to the needs of all their customers but, in particular, the needs of vulnerable customers such as older people and those with disabilities. This point is one I intend to raise again with the banks and their representative bodies when I next have that opportunity.
