Northern Bank
Lenihan urged to come clean on bank merger plans
Issued : 5 August 2009
Irish Examiner
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan was today urged to come clean on an alleged secret plan to merge as many as four Irish banks.
Rank and file bank workers fear as many as 5,000 jobs could be axed in a potential merger of half the institutions covered by the Government's guarantee scheme.
Larry Broderick, general secretary of the Irish Bank Officials Association (IBOA), said concerns are mounting that a consolidation process will kick in after the State's 'bad bank' Nama is set up.
"The speculation that is emerging in the last number of weeks is there is a plan somewhere to do that," he said.
"We are saying that needs to be exposed now or clarified."
Mr Broderick claims a combination of powers handed to the minister in the state guarantee scheme as well as the planned Nama legislation strengthened the possibility of mergers once toxic assets are off-loaded from the banks.
Up to 5,000 of the 40,000 workers at Bank of Ireland, AIB, Irish Nationwide, EBS, Irish Life and Permanent and Anglo Irish could be let go under such a plan, according to the IBOA, which represents 23,000 staff.
Mr Broderick said they were seeking talks with Mr Lenihan's department, Nama, the Financial Regulator and the Central Bank over their concerns.
"We are pragmatic, this is not a cry that says we don't change," he said.
"What we are concerned about is that we genuinely feel there is work being done behind the scene to consolidate [banks]. There is no transparency here."
The IBOA is also calling for a banking commission to be set up - which would include shareholders, senior management, staff, customers, State agencies and political parties - to map out the future of Irish banking.
