Friday 18th February 2022 – In a statement today, BPFI Chief Executive, Brian Hayes said: “2021 was an exceptional year. Like all companies in all sectors, the pandemic did have an impact on staff and services. Banks experienced absences of up to 25% on certain days, reallocating staff to customer facing teams and branches to minimise disruption. Thousands of contact centre staff in the five retail banks worked on-site to provide essential service at every stage of the pandemic, managing over 10 million calls in 2021.”
In relation to the expected surge in customer needs due to the exit of two retail banks Brian Hayes said: “The transition of well over one million customer current and deposit accounts and millions of direct debits will be an unprecedented event in the history of Irish banking. It will require the participation and support of multiple stakeholders across the economy, including the banking industry, regulatory authorities, utility companies, Government Departments and agencies, and employers working together”.
“BPFI and its member banks are working intensively together as an industry, as well as with stakeholders, to assess and plan for this unprecedented task of transferring millions of accounts and direct debits of personal and business customers across the economy. This enormous task is an absolute priority for the banking sector, its customers and its stakeholders and will remain the number one issue at all levels of our operations this year.”
ENDS/
Note: Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) represents the banking, payments and fintech sector in Ireland. Together with its affiliates, the Federation of International Banks in Ireland and the Fintech & Payments Association of Ireland, BPFI has 100 member institutions and associates, including licensed domestic and foreign banks and institutions operating in the financial marketplace here.
Contact: Jillian Heffernan, Head of Communications, jillian.heffernan@bpfi.ie 087 9016880
