Sinn Féin MLA Caoimhe Archibald has said she is deeply concerned at the announcement of the closure of nine Ulster Bank branches.

The party’s economy spokesperson said:

“It is deeply concerning to hear the announcement today of plans by Ulster Bank to close nine branches across the north from September 2022.

“This will firstly be a huge blow to workers in branches affected and my thoughts are with the workers and their families getting this difficult news. 

“I have today asked Ulster Bank for a meeting regarding potential redundancies as a result of the closures; there should be no compulsory redundancies and I stand with unions and workers in opposing this.

“I have also contacted the Financial Conduct Authority in relation to these branch closures and whether the regulator’s guidance has been met.

“The announcement of these closures comes on the bank of a swathe of branch closures which is eroding the availability of banking services in small towns and rural areas across the north.

“This has an impact on staff, on customers who don’t or can’t use digital services and on small local businesses.

“The future of banking services needs to be designed with communities and other service providers, this was highlighted in the recent report of the Banking Roundtable convened by Finance Minister Conor Murphy.

“Sinn Féin will continue to challenge the rationale for these closures and the loss of services this will have on small towns and the communities they serve.”