Annual Report 2022 / 2023

Our Purpose

The purpose of the IBCB is to work with our member banks to build trustworthiness with the public.

Vision & Purpose

The IBCB’s ambition is to be a trusted independent voice in relation to banking culture, to hold our members to account and to promote good practice. We promote and measure an environment in which ethical behaviour lies at the heart of banking; fair customer outcomes are achieved; staff are supported and reputation for competence is rediscovered.

To do this, it is essential that culture and behavioural change are prioritised at the most senior levels in our member banks, from Board level down. We work with our member banks and a wide range of other stakeholders to achieve that ambition.

The IBCB is not a regulator and is not an industry body. We recognise that the restoration of trust in an industry which has been the subject of so many challenges and issues will not be easy but, we are confident that, over time, we can contribute to positively changing bank culture to the benefit of the two cohorts most impacted by this culture – bank customers and bank staff.

The IBCB was established in April 2019, by the 5 retail banks operating in Ireland at that time; Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland, KBC Bank Ireland, PTSB & Ulster Bank.

Two of these banks, KBC Bank Ireland and Ulster Bank are currently in the process of exiting the market. Ulster bank ceased its membership of the IBCB at end March 2023 and KBC Ireland will no longer be a member from September 2023 onwards. The remaining licenced retail banks, Allied Irish Banks, Bank of Ireland and PTSB are the current member banks of the IBCB.

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Foreword from IBCB Chairman

Mr. Justice John Hedigan

Welcome to the Irish Banking Culture Board’s (IBCB) 4th Annual Report. 

This past year in the banking sector has been dominated by the huge levels of bank account switching required due to the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland from the Irish market and by expectations on the banking sector to assist customers as a result of the rapidly rising cost of living. The IBCB has worked closely with our member banks and other industry bodies in relation to these issues and will continue to do so in the period ahead. The last year also saw the conclusion of the Central Bank of Ireland’s Tracker Mortgage Examinations. As noted in our statement issued in September 2022, the IBCB stands with the thousands of bank customers who have been impacted financially and emotionally by this scandal. As a Board, we have sought to learn from the insights we gained through our engagement with customers and staff in relation to this issue, and to use them to identify the priority areas we consider need to be focussed on in our member banks in order to assist them with building a roadmap to the post-tracker period, founded on sustained strategic focus on the lessons that have been learned, and those that continue to require focus.

A key role of the IBCB is to measure trust levels with the public and internal culture within our member banks. We do this through our éist Public Trust in Banking surveys and our éist Staff Culture surveys. These surveys form the basis for our work programme across our two key pillars Customers and Staff. 

During the period we published some key reports:

éist 2022 Public Trust in Banking report – It was clear from the findings published in July 2022 that, while there is some evidence of improvement, more work remains to be done to address deeply ingrained feelings of distrust towards the banking sector amongst the Irish public. 

éist 2022 Proud to work in Banking report – Irish bank staff report lower levels of organisational pride than their peers in other jurisdictions. Over the period we undertook some in depth research on this topic and published this report with the findings in September 2022.

Since the end of the financial period, we have published our éist 2023 Public Trust in Banking report which finds that while banking remains in a state of flux in Ireland, the slow recovery of public trust in the sector continues. We are also due to publish our éist 2023 Staff Culture report in September 2023.

More information on all these reports can be found in the Work Programme section of this report and on our website.

Throughout the financial year we had five member banks and 14 board members. Due to their exit from the Irish market, Ulster Bank ceased its membership of the IBCB at the end of the financial year (March 2023) and KBC Bank Ireland will cease its membership at the end of September 2023. I would like to thank Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland for their support for the IBCB since the outset in 2019 and to wish their staff all the very best for the future. We have also had a number of other Board member changes over the period which are detailed below in the Governance section. I would like to sincerely thank Philip O’Leary, Ger Mitchell, Lavinia Morris, Elizabeth Arnett, and Jim O’Keeffe for their contributions to the board and I wish them all the very best for the future and I look forward to working with the new members of our board. 

I would also like to thank my fellow board members and the staff of the IBCB on their continued commitment to our purpose – to working with our member banks to build trustworthiness with the public.

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Mr. Justice John Hedigan

IBCB Chairman

“This past year in the banking sector has been dominated by the huge levels of bank account switching required due to the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland from the Irish market and by expectations on the banking sector to assist customers as a result of the rapidly rising cost of living.”

– Mr. Justice John Hedigan

Marion Kelly large portrait photo

Foreword from IBCB CEO

Marion Kelly

As noted by our Chairman, this past year has been characterised by significant impacts on bank customers and staff as the impact of the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland became a reality. The IBCB’s focus has been on the manner in which these departures were handled, in particular in relation to fairness and transparency in communications and supports for customers in a vulnerable position. We have also focussed on how the remaining member banks have prepared to welcome significant numbers of new customers as a result of the exits of the two banks. Our éist Public Trust in Banking survey conducted in Q1 2023 supports the view that this process has been generally well handled by the banking sector. 

The past year also saw the conclusion of a review of the Irish Retail Banking sector by the Department of Finance, which the IBCB actively participated in. We will continue to participate in the next phase of this review. A robust and trusted banking sector is essential to the future prosperity of Ireland. Regardless of how the sector evolves, or how retail banking services are delivered, it is crucial that good culture, ethical behaviour and the interests of customers and staff remain central to the decision-making process in banks and the financial sector.

The long-awaited Individual Accountability Framework (IAF) was signed into law in March 2023. Individual accountability is a cornerstone of positive behaviour and culture. To regain trust, it is imperative that stakeholders recognise that the banking industry’s commitment to behavioural and cultural change is more than just words. Rather it is a real commitment that involves changes to how business is done and is underpinned by a framework which enables individuals, as well as organisations, to be held to account. In addition to enhancing trust with stakeholders, the introduction of the individual accountability framework in Ireland has the potential to yield further positives for those institutions subject to it, via clearer decision-making and overall governance processes, and, by extension, better and more transparent risk management.

As a result of the departure of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland as members of the IBCB and following conclusion of our first three-year term, we undertook a strategic review in early 2023 to determine the focus and remit of the IBCB for the period 2023-26. As a Board, we have confirmed our membership model is focussed on Irish retail banks with a commitment to sharing our approach and insights with all interested parties in the wider sector. I would like to thank our member banks; AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB for their ongoing support for the IBCB and confirmation of funding for a further three-year term. The key areas we will focus on for the period ahead will be informed by the findings of our éist 2023 Public Trust in Banking and Staff Culture surveys, with particular focus on increasing financial awareness, accountability and speaking up. 

I would like to thank each member of our small central team, our Board members and Chair, as well as all bank staff who have participated in our initiatives over the past year for their ongoing commitment to the IBCB and to maintaining a strategic focus on improving bank behaviour and culture. 

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Marion Kelly

IBCB CEO

“The IBCB’s focus has been on the manner in which these departures were handled, in particular in relation to fairness and transparency in communications and supports for customers in a vulnerable position.”

– Marion Kelly