National Irish Bank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| National Irish Bank Limited | |
 |
|
| Type | Private limited company by shares - Subsidiary of Danske Bank AS |
|---|---|
| Founded | Dublin, Ireland (1988) |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
| Key people | Peter Staarup, Chairman, Andrew Healy, CEO |
| Products | Various banking products |
| Employees | 800 (2004) |
| Slogan | New thinking in banking |
| Website | www.nationalirishbank.ie/ |
National Irish Bank (NIB) is a commercial bank in the Republic of Ireland, one of the traditional Big Four. In December 2004, Danske Bank agreed to purchase National Irish Bank (and Northern Bank) from the National Australia Bank for GB£967m (approx €1400).
It is the fourth largest high street bank in the Republic of Ireland and offers a full range of commercial and personal banking products. It is part of the Laser payment system.
The bank's reputation has been tarnished somewhat as a result of a scandal in its personal banking division some years ago (see history, below). However the bank is now preparing to undergo change as a result of its acquisition by Danske Bank, with a new look and product offering unveiled on 18 April 2006.
Contents |
[edit] History
National Irish Bank was set up in 1987, under the name Northern Bank (Ireland) Limited, when the Midland Bank, UK separated its operations in the Republic of Ireland from its Northern Ireland operation, Northern Bank. In 1988, Northern Bank, in both the Republic and Northern Ireland, was acquired by the National Australia Bank Limited, and the Republic of Ireland operation renamed National Irish Bank Limited whilst the Northern Bank remains the name of the Northern Ireland operation. Nonetheless, a single management team continued to run both banks, which shared many services and back office functions.
During this era, the logo of the National Irish Bank was that of the National Australia Bank (at the time), except that the red star had been recoloured green, and "Irish Bank" was added alongside the word "National". The original Northern Bank (Ireland) logo had been the Midland Bank griffin.
[edit] Tax evasion, Overcharging customers
In 1998, RTÉ journalists Charlie Bird and George Lee uncovered a massive scandal at the National Irish Bank involving overcharging of customers at the bank and tax avoidance schemes. A retired justice of the Supreme Court, Mr. Justice John Blayney and Mr. Tom Grace, a partner in PriceWaterhouseCoopers were appointed Inspectors by the High Court in Dublin. They confirmed that National Irish Bank had overcharged customers[1]. The Inspectors conclusions were:
- Bogus non-resident accounts were opened and maintained in the branches enabling customers to evade tax through concealment of funds from the Revenue Commissioners
- Fictitiously named accounts were opened and maintained in the branches, enabling customers to evade taxes through concealment of funds from the Revenue Commissioners
- Clerical Medical Insurance (CMI) policies were promoted as a secure investment for funds undisclosed to the Revenue Commissioners
- Special Savings Accounts had Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) deducted at a reduced rate
- There was improper charging of interest to customers
- There was improper charging of fees to customers
[edit] Officers cited for disqualification
The Director of Corporate Enforcement took proceeding against the following NIB personnel seeking their disqualification from being appointed or act as an auditor, director or other officer, receiver, liquidator or examiner or be in any way, whether directly or indirectly, concerned or take part in the promotion, formation or management of any company, or any society registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1978[2]
- Jim Lacey, Chief Executive, NIB from 1988 to April 20, 1994;
- Barry Seymour, former Executive Director, NIB;
- Frank Brennan, former General Manager – Retail Banking, NIB and other titles;
- Michael Keane, former General Manager – Banking, NIB and other titles;
- Dermott Boner, former Head of Retail, NIB and other titles;
- Kevin Curran, former Head of Retail Banking, NIB and other titles;
- Tom McMenamin, a former Regional Manager, NIB and other titles;
- Patrick Byrne, former Head of Finance, NIB, and
- Nigel D’Arcy, former Head of the Financial Advice and Services Division, NIB.
Mr. D'Arcy, of Straffan, County Kildare was barred by the High Court on October 26, 2006 from acting as a director of any company for a period of 10 years. Mr. Justice Peter Kelly commented that "the edifice of banking is built on a foundation of trust. On the Inspectors' findings there was a breach of trust by dishonesty on the part of the bank in the operation of the CMI policies. The operation was carried out over a period of years in a deliberate fashion"[3] [4]. Lacey stated that the six-year investigation into tax evasion was "flawed" and that the Inspectors were guilty of "basic errors"[5]
D'Arcy was recruited and reported to Lacey. The Director has applied for similar orders against eight other NIB former directors or managers, including Lacey. Those applications are being opposed by the eight respondents and hearing dates have yet to be fixed.
[edit] Changes under Danske
On 1st March 2005 Danske formally took control of National Irish Bank. It announced as its first act that the Northern Bank and National Irish Bank would be fully separated from each other, with a new management team appointed to National Irish Bank. An interim CEO, John Trethowan, was appointed. Some shared back office services will remain. The bank changed over to the Danske Bank technology platform and removed any shared services provided by National Australia Bank Europe, however a two year extra-service agreement exists in that the bank will continue to receive many key technology services from the National Australia Group.
Also the bank adopted the logo of Danske Bank, albeit with the word "Danske" replaced by "National Irish". As preparation for this change, the star logo was dropped by National Irish Bank, along with the National Australia "Tailored Financial Solutions" slogan. On 14 April 2006 the old NAB-style logotype was replaced with the new logo on the bank's website, with the bank formally being relaunched on 18 April, with a new product offering, and a revamped internet banking system. Among the innovations is the use of text messages to communicate with customers.
In June 2005 Andrew Healy was appointed chief executive officer of National Irish Bank.
[edit] Tiger robbery, August 2006
The Killester, Dublin branch of National Irish Bank was the scene of a 'tiger robbery' on August 29, 2006 when a 23-year old employee was kidnapped by an armed gang. The bank handed over a ransom of €270,000 without informing or involving the Garda Siochana. The Garda Siochana heavily criticized this action, stating that it leaves the bank exposed in the future to replica attacks.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Summary of Report of the Investigation into the affairs of National Irish Bank Ltd and National Irish Financial Services Limited. The High Court (2004-07-30).
- ^ Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (2005-07-28). ODCE Seeks Nine Disqualifications arising from the NIB/NIBFS Report. Press release.
- ^ "Ex-NIB executive barred for 10 years by court", Eircom.net, 2005-10-27.
- ^ "Former NIB executive disqualified", RTE Business News, 2005-10-26. Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
- ^ "NIB tax evasion report flawed, says Lacey", The Irish Times, 2006-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-08-14.
- ^ "Garda anger at bank's ransom payment", The Irish Times, 2006-08-31.
