Minister Coughlan Officially Opens New Ulster Bank Donegal Town Branch

12 January 2007

Minister for Agriculture and Food Ms Mary Coughlan T.D. last night officially opened the new Ulster Bank branch in Donegal Town, bringing a new chapter to Ulster Bank's 155 years in the town.

Minister Coughlan was on hand to open the new Main Street branch, which last November replaced the Ulster Bank branch which had operated in the Diamond since 1851. The official opening was attended by Ulster Bank staff and officials including Mike Bamber, Chief Executive, Ulster Bank Retail Markets, Sean Healy, Managing Director, Ulster Bank Retail Markets and Mr. Brendan McDermott, Regional Director of Business Banking, along with retail and business banking customers from Donegal and the North West.

Commenting on the new branch, Mr Bamber said: "This is a great day for Ulster Bank and Donegal Town. The opening of these fine new premises demonstrates our commitment to our branch network, especially in the North West Region, and is an important part of our expansion plans for Ulster Bank. I would like to thank all my colleagues who helped get this branch up and running, particularly Branch Manager Anne Rodgers and her team, whose hard work has ensured a smooth transition process from the old branch to the new premises we stand in today."

Mr Bamber added that in addition to the 11 staff serving retail customers, the new branch will have three dedicated staff for business and commercial customers, with new Business Centre Manager for the North West region Peter Smyth to lead the Business and Commercial Banking division in the Donegal Town branch.

"Our staff, led by Anne Rodgers on the retail side and now Peter Smyth for commercial banking, bring a wealth of expertise and know-how across both retail and business banking to our customers. These dedicated retail and business units will ensure that a comprehensive retail and commercial banking service is available to new and existing customers in Donegal and the North West," he said.

The move to the new Main Street Branch comes as part of Ulster Bank's three-year Branch Improvement plan, which will see €73 million invested in improving Ulster Bank's 225 branches across the island of Ireland. A total of 155 branch improvements have been completed since the plan was implemented in 2005.