Business

Banks hit back at Northern Ireland committee

THREE banks have hit back at the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee following its stinging report on the north's financial sector.

Earlier this month, it said banks had been a block to economic recovery in the north and had "shown relatively little concern for their customers".

It had been examining the role of banks in the economic crash and subsequent recession.

Committee chairman Laurence Roberston, a Conservative MP said banks had become too cautious in the aftermath of the economic downturn.

However, now some of the banks named in the report have fought back with three institutions writing to Mr Robertson calling for corrections to be made.

Danske Bank complained that the report said its decision not to take part in the government's Funding for Lending scheme had denied Northern Ireland "a further capacity for growth".

Its chief executive Gerry Mallon said the bank told the committee "we had no need to draw on the scheme as our funding and liquidity position was so strong".

"This position has continued since the date of our submission and, in fact, our funding and liquidity position as strengthened even further. We have therefore had no need for additional funding during the economic downturn and at all times we have had more than sufficient liquidity to meet the needs of both new and existing customers," he said.

The Ulster Bank also hit out at the committee report which it said asserted no bank was headquartered in Belfast - despite the bank's base being at Donegall Square East in the city.

Its corporate affairs manager Dan McGinn went on to criticise the committee's call to publish a report into the 2012 IT fiasco by its parent company RBS stating it had "in fact been publicly available since November 20 2014".

Meanwhile, Santander disputed a claim in the report that it had not provided data to the British Bankers' Association (BBA).