spectrum july 2012

JULY 2012

Foul-ups, scandals and over-charging – lessons still to be learned!

Marilyn50 years afterher death , thelegend enduresSee Pages 49-50

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2 SPECTRUM july 2012

SHORT STORIES NEWS REVIEW SPECIAL FOCUS IBOA NEWS

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Spectrum is published by IBOA – The Finance Union,IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8and 29, Malone Road, Belfast. BT9 6RU.

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McCARTHY’SNEW NICHEFormer Ulster Bank Chief Executive,Cormac McCarthy, has taken a newjob working for Paddy Power

See Page 4

NEW FACES ONBOI BOARDBank of Ireland’s international investorsmake their presence felt on the Bank’sboard.

See Page 5

NEWS REVIEW• RBS IT meltdown paralyses Ulster Bank• Diamond in the Rough• ‘Appy Days• Mis-selling scandal in Republic

See Pages 8-15

SPECIAL FOCUS• Going for gold• Crime seldom pays• Blowing the whistle• Busting jargon• Health and safety at work

See Pages 16-23

IBOA NEWS• Boss’s bogus bonus bogey• Duffy plans smaller AIB• Hanna and Barrett return• Bank Secretaries Conference• Robert Thompson bows out

See Pages 24-31

LIFE & STYLE• Marilyn Monroe – more than an empty icon• Olympic Torch-ure! • Level of personal debt in the Republic rises

See Pages 48-53

COLOUR SECTIONS

M&S SET TOLAUNCH BANKMarks and Spencer prepares to offera full range of retail banking servicesto its customers.

See Page 6

WORK AGENDA• Banking on future at BOI • Legacy from Dark Ages • AIB’s brave new world• Ulster says sorry• NIB branch closure concerns

See Pages 40-47

july 2012 SPECTRUM 3

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WORK AGENDA LIFE & STYLE ARTS & LEISUREIBOA EXTRA

IBOA EXTRA• Building the Union• Suite deal in Belfast• Back to the future• Diversity at work• Lionel Richie plays country

See Pages 32-39

Top bankers pass teston fitness and probityCentral Bank tells 2008 veterans, Murphyand Boucher, that they can continue

Senior executives of Irishbanks who were directors

when the State guarantee wasintroduced have been given aclean bill of health by theRepublic’s Central Bank. The finding, which coversBank of Ireland Chief Executive,Richie Boucher, and Irish Lifeand Permanent Chief, KevinMurphy, follows a protractedinvestigation into fitness andprobity by the Central Bank. In a statement issued lastmonth, the Central Bank saidthat as it conducted its reviewover the last twelve months,many of the long standingdirectors of the institutionscovered by the bank guaranteehad resigned. It said it had no reason tosuspect the fitness and probityof any directors currently inplace who were on boards of

Irish banks during the night ofthe guarantee. “In some cases this decisionwas taken internally within theCentral Bank and in others theCentral Bank sought an externalopinion on the material avail-able to the Central Bank. Nofurther actions will be taken bythe Central Bank at this time.”

ALL CLEAR: Bank ofIreland Chief Executive,Richie Boucher (left) andIrish Life and PermanentChief Executive, KevinMurphy (right) (Photos:Photocall-Ireland).

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CO-OP BIDS FORLLOYDS ASSETSThe Co-operative Bank is favoured toacquire 632 branches being sold offby Lloyds Banking Group.

See Page 7

ARTS & LEISURE• Stone Crazy• Cinematix: Brave• Game Time• Prize Quizzes• Ultra Violet

See Pages 54-63

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Ulster Bank’s formerChief Executive Officer,

Cormac McCarthy, has beenappointed as chief financialofficer of bookmaking firm,Paddy Power. McCarthy had previouslybeen appointed as a non-executive director at PaddyPower last August. His appointment to thebookmaking firm mirrorsthe recent appointment offormer HBOS boss, AndyHornby, as Chief Executive

of Coral’s – prompting theobservation that these ratherunsuccessful practitioners ofcasino capitalism may haveat last found their niche. Although McCarthy hasnow secured gainful employ-

ment with the bookmakers,the future is far from being asafe bet for the 950 UlsterBank staff who may losetheir jobs by the end of2013 – on top of a similarnumber who left the Bankin 2010 – largely as a resultof the deterioration in theBank’s finances duringMcCarthy’s stewardship. Ulster Bank’s parent, RBS,has set aside around E9bn tocover the losses on its Irishloan book.

McCarthy finds nichePaddy Power appoints new finance officer

Super-hero?: Cormac McCarthy at the Paddy Power AGM in May. (Photo: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)

You couldNOT make

it up!

Ryder totake ILO’stop jobBritish trade unionist, GuyRyder, will become the nextDirector-General of the Inter-national Labour Organisation(ILO) in October when hesucceeds Juan Somavia, theformer Chilean diplomatwho has headed the Geneva-based body since 1998. With a global remit topursue agreed internationalworkplace standards, theILO is the only UnitedNations agency that is notrun by governments alone. Ryder, who was the firstGeneral Secretary of the175-million strong Inter-national Trade Union Con-federation, will be the firsttrade unionist to serve asDirector-General since theILO was founded in 1919.

New ILO chief: Guy Ryder


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Representatives of twoof the key players in

the investment consortiumwhich acquired a E1.1bnstake in Bank of Ireland lastsummer have now joinedthe Bank’s board as non-executive directors. Wilbur Ross Junior isChairman of the US privateequity firm, Invesco PrivateCapital, Inc. He also servesas Chairman and CEO ofW. L. Ross & Co, which hasa lengthy track record inrestructuring “financiallydistressed” companies.

Prem Watsa is Chairmanand CEO of Toronto-basedFairfax Financial HoldingsLimited, a publicly tradedfinancial services holdingcompany which, throughits subsidiaries, is engagedin property and casualtyinsurance and re-insuranceand investment management. Bank of Ireland has alsoappointed a new Governor(Chairman) to succeed PatMolloy who retired fromthe post last month. Thenew appointee is ArchieKane who recently retired

from Lloyds Banking Groupplc, where he served asGroup Executive Director –Insurance and Scotland,until May 2011. Before that, he held anumber of senior manage-ment positions with LloydsBanking Group and withTSB Bank plc. He is a former memberof the Scottish Government’sFinancial Services AdvisoryBoard, the UK TakeoverPanel and the UK Treasury’sFinancial Services GlobalCompetitiveness Group.

Metro onthe moveNew kid on the Britishbanking block, Metro Bank,plans to expand its businesswith a further seven branchesin South East England – tobring its total workforce to700. Metro became the firstretail challenger to theestablished banks in 100years when it opened its firstbranch in London in 2010, Though still very mucha minor player, Metro Bank’s“unique selling point” isextended opening – withservice available on week-days from 8am to 8pm andat the weekends for six hoursa day. Metro Bank’s expansionis a further sign of increasingcompetition in the retailbanking sector – with bothMarks & Spencer and Tescoplanning to extend the rangeof financial services on offerto their customers.

New faces for Bankof Ireland board

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Wilbur Ross, Jr. Archie Kane Prem Watsa

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By mirroring usual store openinghours, the M&S Bank branches willbe open twice as long as traditionalhigh street banks – thus enablingcustomers “to bank while they shop,seven days a week,” according to acompany statement. Customers will also have accessto online banking around the clock,as well as to UK-based call centres. Over 3 million customers alreadyuse M&S Money, Marks’ existingjoint venture with HSBC – providinga range of financial services, includ-ing credit cards and insurance. TheM&S Bank will take this to a newlevel by offering current accounts andeventually mortgages, too. According to the company’s ChiefExecutive, Marc Bolland, the M&SBank “will be built on M&S values;

putting the customer at the heart ofthe proposition and delivering theexceptional service that sets us apartfrom the competition.” M&S Bank expects to employ 500staff by the end of 2013 – including400 in customer-facing roles in itsbranch network and around 100 at itshead office in Chester. Staffed by a specialist team, eachM&S Bank branch is planned toinclude private meeting areas as wellas self-service banking points and aforeign exchange facility. While challenging the traditionalhigh street banks, the M&S move willalso steal a march on Tesco, Britain’slargest supermarket-based financialservices provider – which recentlyopted to put plans for a major expan-sion in services on hold.

Banks must beallowed to fail –says EUBanks will be allowed to fail if EU

member States adopt new measuresproposed by the EU Commission to avoida repeat of the current banking crisis. Under the Commission’s plans tobreak the “too big to fail” culture in Euro-pean banking, if a bank that poses nosystemic risk to the national or inter-national economy gets into difficulties,it will simply be allowed to close. However, if its failure is likely to resultin a serious threat to the stability offinancial markets, the institution will bepropped up in part by making unsecuredcreditors of the bank – such as bond -holders and shareholders – take lossesrather than requiring the State to bail outthe institution. M&S to offer full

banking servicesRetailer to offer current accountsand mortgages via link with HSBCBritain’s largest clothing retailer, Marks & Spencer, plans to open 50 bank

branches in its stores within two years, with the first branch opening thismonth at the group's flagship store at London’s Marble Arch. Banking infra-structure will be provided by HSBC.


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Lloyds Banking Grouphas agreed to press ahead

with the sale of 632 branchesto the Co-operative Bankafter it rejected a rival offerfrom the private equitycompany, NBNK. Lloyds has to sell off the632 branches – known asthe Verde group – in order tocomply with EU conditionsfor receiving State aid. Once the sale of the Verdegroup is completed, the Co-operative Bank will acquire

a 7% share of the currentaccount market. The Financial ServicesAuthority and the BritishTreasury are believed to beconcerned that the sale ofthe Verde group should beaccompanied by significantfunding reserves to staywithin regulatory rules. Lloyds has said that theVerde business would haveequity capital of £1.5bn toprotect customers in the eventof a run on the bank.

Though widely expected,the Lloyds Banking decisionhas come as a major dis-appointment to the privateequity company, NBNK,which has been desperateto gain a foothold in retailbanking in Britain. NBNK is fronted by LordLevene, the former chair-man of the insurance under-writers, Lloyd’s of London,and run by the former ChiefExecutive of Northern Rock,Gary Hoffman.

Lloyds nods to Co-op NBNK’s bid for 632 branches rejected

Sky blue thinker?: GaryHoffman, NBNK Chief Executive

Bustin’HoffmanProbably one of CoventryCity Football Club’s best paidsupporters is Gary Hoffman,Chief Executive of invest-ment company, which failedin its latest attempt to enterBritain’s retail banking sectorby buying 632 branches fromLloyds Banking Group. Hoffman was paid£910,300 last year – eventhough NBNK lost £23mon two previous bids tosecure a foothold on thehigh street.

Hoffman’s annual salaryof just under £1m followsa £1.8m signing-on fee tosmooth his transfer fromNorthern Rock, where healso served as CEO. Reports that he alsoreceived £0.5 million fromhis former employer whileon six months’ “gardeningleave” led some commen-tators to question if anyinformation Hoffman mighthave about the bailed outfailed bank could actuallybe quite so commerciallysensitive.

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Dark horses: Co-op outbids NBNK for 632 branches earmarked for disposal by Lloyds (Photo: IBOA).

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I learned towalk as ababy and Ihaven’t had alesson since.Marilyn Monroe

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DIAMOND IN THE ROUGHBut British banking’s problems are about the culture – rather than the preceivedfailings of one individual.

See Page 11

MIS-SELLING SCANDALThe Irish Central Bank’s report that a number of financial institutions havemis-sold payment protection insurance to customers is a further hammer blow.

See Page 6

APPY DAYSThe growth of mobile banking –based around the internet – has beengathering a seemingly unstoppablemomentum in recent years. So will theRBS IT debacle now lead to a moremeasured approach?

See Page 13

GUPTA GUILTY Retired head of consultants, McKinsey,and ex-Goldman Sachs board member,Rajat K. Gupta has been found guiltyof conspiracy and securities fraud forleaking secrets to a hedge fund man-ager – following a major US Govern-ment probe into insider trading.


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RBS IT meltdownparalyses UlsterWith around half of Ulster Bank’s

1.8 million customers believedto have been affected by the disrup-tion to the Bank’s IT facilities –hostedby RBS – and with many thousandsmore customers of other institutionsalso drawn into the chaos, the impactof this unprecedented event is likelyto reverberate on Ulster Bank andthroughout Irish banking for manymonths to come. As British economic commentator,Will Hutton, noted recently: “there isno more serious business failure fora bank, bringing in its wake, as itdoes, vast economic and social con -sequences. It’s like a water companyunable to supply water or a powercompany gas and electricity.”

While much of the media focuson the hardships caused by UlsterBank’s difficulties has understandablyhighlighted the impact on individualcustomers unable to access funds fromtheir personal accounts, there has alsobeen huge damage to businesses unableto verify whether payments due haveindeed been received or even, them-selves, unable to meet payment dead-lines. Indeed so pervasive has been theimpact of the crisis that a final tally ofthe full financial cost may take months.And of course, it remains to be seenwhat effect the affair will have on theBank’s ability to retain customers. Perhaps the one saving grace inthis regard has been the commitment

of the Bank’s frontline staff –which hasreceived an overwhelmingly positiveresponse from customers who mayotherwise have been less than impressedwith the overall crisis response fromthe Bank’s senior management. While the Chief Executive, JimBrown, eventually came forward to“unreservedly apologise for the dis-ruption that the issue has caused ourcustomers and customers of otherbanks,” many felt that the timing of thestatement – almost a week into thecrisis – indicating a lack of under-standing or respect for customers. Communications difficulties wereevident throughout the critical earlydays of the crisis.

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The Bank’s self-imposed deadlinesfor resolving the issue came and wentwith such frequency that when the Bankwas finally in a position to provide moredefinitive forecasts, the message hadlost credibility. While there was some appreciationamong the public that accidents in theremote RBS IT systems were outsidethe control of Ulster Bank, it was clearthat, whatever contingency plan UlsterBank management may have had tohandle the fall-out from the originalproblem, was completely inadequate.There was, in the eyes of manycommentators, no ‘plan B.’ By the time Ulster Bank finally goton top of the situation, the reputationalhorse had long since bolted. The taskof rebuilding trust with its customersis likely to take some time. A comprehensive compensationscheme is a start. The Bank has con-firmed that no customer, or customersof other banks, will be left permanentlyout of pocket. It has also contactedcredit reference agencies to ensure thatcustomers’ credit ratings will not beadversely affected. Customers are to be compensated for:• Overdraft fees (both for being over-

drawn and exceeding a credit limit)• Overdraft interest• Late-payment fees and interest on

mortgages, loans and credit cards• Interest wrongly charged on late

payments• Cash-advance fees and interest on

credit cardsAnyone affected by the meltdown –whether Ulster Bank customers or not– have been advised to keep writtendetails of any losses and present this asevidence to the bank. According to UK banking experts, thetotal compensation costs for the threeRBS banks –NatWest, Ulster and RoyalBank of Scotland –could exceed €130m. The implementation of a com-prehensive “restitution” plan was oneof the key demands of the Republic’sCentral Bank whose Director of Con-sumer Protection, Bernard Sheridan,told the Oireachtas Finance Committeerecently that Ulster Bank’s contingencyplanning was “self-evidently…appall-ing,” and its approach to communicat-ing with customers “exasperating.” However, the Central Bank, itself didnot escape criticism for its response tothe Ulster Bank crisis. Aside from beingcastigated by public representatives forthe delay in commenting publicly on the

crisis, the regulator was also shown tolack the expertise to assess the fitness ofthe IT systems in use across Irish bank-ing–relying, instead, on the evaluationsprovided by the institutions themselves. Public representatives said that,with information technology playingsuch a crucial role in financial services,the Central Bank should be able toaudit its use and effectiveness in allfinancial institutions.

Lessons of the Crisis“The Ulster Bank crisis should also pro-vide pause for thought in the accelerat-ing rush towards automated banking,”said IBOA’s Larry Broderick. “The frailties of the RBS IT systemshould at least serve as a warning toother institutions of the need to maintainand overhaul their IT infrastructure. “More thoughtful banking leadersmight also reflect on the importance ofenabling customers to interact withhuman beings rather than machines. “The staff of Ulster Bank haveplayed a key role in the crisis: they willalso be vital in persuading customersto remain when the dust settles,” he said. It remains to be seen how the needto rebuild the business leads man -agement to re-assess its job reductionprogramme. But the timing could hardlybe worse for trying to implement majorjob cuts across the Branch network.

It also remains to be seen whethermanagements in other institutionswith ambitions for a more automatedapproach to retail banking willreconsider the scope of their plans inthe light of the Ulster Bank crisis. Another lesson to emerge in recentweeks is that, even in the face of suchan unprecedented crisis, the quality ofthe relationships between customers andbank officials improved immeasurablywhen the high pressure sales approachwas dropped and customers’ real needswere addressed. Customers were no longer put underpressure to buy financial “products”they did not need, while staff were nolonger put under pressure to sell“products” which they already knewthe customer did not want.

Real Service to Customers Real customer service – addressingthe customers’ actual needs rather thantheir presumed needs –has once againbecome the order of the day. It hasbecome a case of “back to the future,”even though it has taken a near melt-down to achieve it. But for how long? When “normalservice” resumes, will the Bank’s blindobsession with sales resume with it?Many members of staff and manycustomers hope not.

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Regulators: Staff from the Central Bank (left to right) Head of Payments Paul Molumby, Head ofBanking Supervision, Shane O'Neill and Director of Consumer Protection, Bernard Sheridan, pictured ontheir way into Leinster House to attend the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure andReform to discuss the safeguards in place to mitigate technical difficulties in the Irish financial servicessector. (Photo: Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland).


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As if triggering a majoreconomic crisis which has

sent the British economy into adouble-dip recession was notenough, British banking hasscored more spectacular owngoals this week. The computer turmoil atRBS –which also wrought havocfor customers in its NatWestand Ulster Bank subsidiaries –rapidly paled into insignificance(except in Ireland, for obviousreasons) when the shockingrevelation broke that a smallnumber of individuals in manyleading international banks –with Barclays most prominent –had been trying to manipulatethe London Inter Bank OfferedRate (LIBOR) in order to eitherexaggerate the financial health oftheir own institution or to line

Diamond in the rough…but problems go far wider than one man

their own pockets from tradingbonuses. Barclays was fined a total of$450m (£290m) by the BritishFinancial Services Authority andits US counterpart, the Com-modities Futures Trading Com-mission –with further sanctionslikely against other banks. The regulators found thatBarclays traders had routinelymanipulated the LIBOR in thehope of increasing their tradingprofits and their bonuses. At one point, Barclays waslying “on an almost daily basis”in the information it suppliedto the market, according to a USinvestigator. Barclays Chief Executive,Bob Diamond, and Chairman,Marcus Agius, eventually optedto fall –or were they pushed? –on

their swords in the wake of thescandal, Diamond’s initial re-fusal to waive a pay-off, said toworth between £20m and £30m,only added to public outrage. Agius, meanwhile, was givena reprieve in order to supervise thesearch for Diamond’s successor. No one seems to have queriedhow someone, who was deemed

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At a hearing in the USCongress last monthinto how JP Morganlost up to $9bn inderivatives trading inthe UK before theLIBOR manipulationscandal broke, Con-gresswoman, CarolynMaloney, remarked:“It seems to be thatevery big tradingdisaster happens inLondon.”

Exit strategy: Barclays’ recently signed Chief Executive Officer, Bob Diamond (left), with his predecessor, John Varley (behind)and soon-to-depart Chairman, Marcus Agius (right) pictured before Diamond took up his post in January 2011 (Photo: Dylan Martinez).

Interest rate fixinquiry in CanadaAn investigation into interest ratemanipulation in Canada has allegedthat traders working for British banks,RBS and HSBC, as well as for DeutscheBank, J. P. Morgan, Citibank and Icapbrokers conspired to fix rates forJapanese yen trades for personalgain. All dispute the claims.

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King’s counsel: Bank of England,Governor, Mervyn King, has launcheda broadside at British banking culture.

to be unfit to remain in a key rolein a major institution, shouldnevertheless be permitted to playa pivotal role in the appointmentof its next leader. As the LIBOR scandal wasbreaking, the Financial ServicesAuthority announced that it hadreached a settlement with fourbanks – Barclays, RBS, Lloydsand HSBC – after finding thatthey had mis-sold products toprotect small businesses againsta rise in interest rates. The small print on manyof these products provided forpenalties to be charged if interestrates fell. When this came to pass,these businesses incurred sub-stantial penalties – putting theirviability at risk. This mis-selling scandalcame a year after it was re-vealed that the vast majority ofpayment protection insurancepolicies bought in Britain hadbeen mis-sold by financialinstitutions which subsequentlyhad to set aside £5.5bn (E6.6bn)to compensate customers. The excessive sales culturewithin the banking sector –which encourages the sale ofinappropriate products to ill-informed customers –con tinuesto cause untold reputationaldamage to the financial servicessector in these islands. While many hoped thatthe financial crash in 2008

would lead to a re-evaluationof this culture, banking bossesin both Britain and Irelandappear to have learned noth-ing. It seems that there is no‘Plan B’ – only more of thesame destructive policies andpractices that led to the crisisin the first place. In a trenchant commentaryon recent developments in theUK, the Governor of the Bank ofEngland, Mervyn King, made anangry attack on British bankingculture earlier this month, sayingthat something had gone verywrong with an industry which helacerated for resorting to “deceit-ful” methods to make money.

King highlighted a numberof key issues including “shoddytreatment of customers,” and“deceitful manipulation of oneof the most important interestrates” as well as excessiveremuneration for senior execu-tives who are paid bonuseswhich are alone worth manytimes the average salary paid toemployees in Britain. “What I hope is that every-one now understands that some-thing went very wrong with theUK banking industry and weneed to put it right…We need areal change in the culture of theindustry," he said.

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ROUGH TRADEThe FSA report on Barclaysdetails various messagessent between the bank’straders and “submitters” –whose job was to sendaccurate information oninterest rates to the BritishBanking Association. Thesubmitters are not supposedto be influenced by traders.

Trader:When I retire andwrite a book about thisbusiness, your name will bewritten in golden letters.Submitter: I would preferthis not [to] be in any book!

Submitter:Hi all, just as anFYI, I will be in noonish onMonday.Trader: Noonish? Who’sgoing to put my low fixingsin? hehehe.

Submitter: [A managerhas] asked me to put itlower than it was yesterday…to send the messagethat we're not in the shit.

Submitter to manager:We are therefore beingdishonest by definition andare at risk of damaging ourreputation in the marketand with the regulators.

Trader to manager, com-plaining about a submit-ter: [He is putting in] thehighest Libor of anybody…He's like, I think this iswhere it should be. I'mlike, dude, you're killing us.Manager to trader: Justtell him to keep it, to put itlow.

External trader to aBarclays trader, asking fora lower Libor submission:If it comes in unchangedI'm a dead man.Barclays trader:promisesto ‘have a chat.’External trader to Barclaystrader later that day:Dude. I owe you big time!Come over one day afterwork and I’m opening abottle of Bollinger.

So what is the LIBOR?LIBOR is an interest rate that is based on what banks arecharged when they borrow from other banks. It stands forthe London Inter Bank Offered Rate and is overseen by theBritish Bankers’ Association chaired by Marcus Agius, whoalso happens to be the chairman of Barclays. While the price of ordinary mortgages is based on Bank ofEngland base rates, the rate borrowers pay on many otherproducts depends on the LIBOR. These include sub-primemortgages offered to people with poor credit ratings, certaincredit cards, personal loans and loans to business. Consumers could have been affected if they had a financialproduct whose price was linked to LIBOR. The difficulty facedby consumers is proving they have suffered a loss as a resultof their bank’s actions. LIBOR changes every day and theregulators said, while Barclays attempted to manipulate it,it did not necessarily succeed.

Who could imagine that banking hooligans would bring football into disrepute?


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Appy daysIrish banks includesmartphone option inonline banking services

The changing needs andpreferences of customers, alongside technological innovation,has led to increased popularityfor mobile banking technology. A report by international ITconsultants, Capgemini, in 2011noted that “direct channels”(online, phone, mobile) areexpected to hold the highestshare of global banking trans-actions volume by 2012. A similar European studyalso shows that around one thirdof active current account holdersregularly bank online while 17%use telephone banking. The same report notes that80% of all money transfers arecurrently conducted throughonline and telephone banking

with around 20% of sales nowmade through the internet orcontact centres. Customer attitudes to mobilebanking have also becomemore positive due to increasedfamiliarity with smartphonetechnology, advancements infunctionalities and enhancedsecurity features. It is expected that by 2013,more internet browsing will bedone on mobile devices than ondesktops. With an estimated 740,000smartphone users in Irelandtoday – of whom 63% are under35 years of age – the potentialuptake for mobile banking isalready significant and likely tobecome more so.

Following the recent launchof the Bank of Ireland app inMay, all of the major retail banksin Ireland now provide mobileaccess to their online bankingfacilities on both Apple andAndroid platforms. First into the field in Irelandwas Ulster Bank which, since itslaunch in September 2010, nowclaims to have around 100,000active users for its apps whichare also available on the Black-berry platform. When the Bank’s IT system isworking, the Ulster Bank appprovides ‘mini-statements’ forthe last six transactions for allaccounts managed through itsAnytime Internet Banking facil-ity including current accounts,savings accounts, credit cardsand loans. It also allows transfers offunds between accounts as wellas payments to designated friendsand family members – alongwith credit card and utility bills. The Ulster Bank app alsooffers weekly balance updates aswell as special alerts to warn ifthe customer exceeds self-imposed balance limits. Both National Irish Bank andNorthern Bank launched their appsin September 2011. Connectedto their eBanking services, theapps offer users a quick overviewof all their accounts as well astheir transaction history for up

⁄

IBOA trialstablet appThe IBOA is exploringthe possibility of creatinga free app which couldprovide members withexclusive access to arange of IBOA services. Delegates at thecent Bank Districtcretaries’ Conference Galway saw a work-g demonstration of apectrum’ app –show-ghow pages from the

last issue of Spectrummight be transformedinto multi-media pre-sentations on an i-Padtablet computer. “New advances intechnology are creatingexciting possibilities tolink up with members,”said the Union’s Com-munications Manager,Séamas Sheils.


Irish banks are increasingly embracing the growing potential ofsmartphone technology to enhance their capacity to offer online

services to their high-tech customers. While they have yet to deploy the full power of the deviceto function as an alternative to credit or debit cards in routineretail settings, the range of services on offer through smart-phones is gradually expanding.

CHAPTERS BOOKSTOREParnell Street Dublin 1

10%DISCOUNT

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Show your IBOA membershipcard at the pay point

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to thirteen months. The appsalso enable customers to transfermoney and pay bills. According to AIB, 200,000downloads have taken place sinceits app was launched in October2011. The app provides access tothe most popular AIB InternetBanking services. Users can check accountbalances and view the 100 mostrecent account transactions oversix months. It also allows billpayments, transfers to third partyaccounts and between the cus-tomer’s own AIB accounts. The app also allows users toset up, amend or cancel a stand-ing order online and to top uptheir mobile phone online orregister for top-up by text. In just a few months, since itslaunch in May, the Bank of Irelandapp has been downloaded byover 65,000 of the Bank’s 500,000customers currently registered foronline banking with Banking 365. The app allows users to viewall account balances and a historyof all transactions since the laststatement. The user can also paybills and transfer money to thepayees registered on the user’sBanking 365 profile. All of these apps are avail-able free of charge from theApple App Store or Google PlayStore. They all offer facilitiesto locate your nearest branch orATM –as well as general contactinformation for Branches andHead Offices. Most banking appsalso include a currency exchangecalculator. The popularity of smart-phone apps has undoubtedlyassisted the development ofe-banking. However, the pro-liferation of new technologyhas been seen in some quartersas the basis for a new model ofbanking which would seek tominimise human interaction. Recent events at UlsterBank and its parent, RBS, haveprovided two important andtimely lessons,” says IBOA’sLarry Broderick, “firstly thattechnology is unpredictablyfallible; and secondly that front-line staff constitute a bank’s mostvaluable asset in maintainingits most crucial relationship –with its customers.”

S

Check out the IBOA websites:

www.iboa.ie/my/services/smallads.html or

www.iboa.org.uk/my/services/smallads.html

You’ll need your IBOA membershipnumber to access these pages.

Small Ads – Big Choice

Holiday Apartmentsto Rent

Adverts placed by IBOA membersfor IBOA members


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Mis-selling scandal islatest costly own goal

The Central Bank in theRepublic has asked seven

financial institutions to con-duct a comprehensive reviewof all their sales of paymentprotection insurance (PPI) sinceAugust 2007. This could result in exten-sive repayments of premiumsto customers worth millions ofeuro if the PPI policies arefound to have been mis-sold. Two banks, AIB and Bankof Ireland, have already paidback more that E4m to 13,000customers who were mis-soldinsurance. The Central Bank is alsoconsidering possible enforce-ment actions over concernsabout the level of complianceby financial institutions withthe 2006 Consumer ProtectionCode. The regulator’s announce-ment follows its latest round ofinspections as part of theon-going investigation of thesale of PPI – which found that

the payment protection insur-ance policies were sold to theself-employed, those close toretirement, and those on con-tract — even though most ofthem were ineligible to beinsured under such policies. Where breaches are foundany affected consumers mustbe “appropriately restituted.” In Britain, where it wasfound that the vast majority ofpayment protection insurancepolicies were mis-sold, Britishinstitutions have set aside over£5.5bn (E6.6bn) to compensatecustomers. Director of Consumer Pro-tection, Bernard Sheridan, saidthat the reviews by the seveninstitutions will be overseen byan independent third party. “In advance, we are requir-ing these firms to submitdetailed plans for how theywill conduct their review,including contacting affectedconsumers and makingrefunds where necessary.

“We will carefully assesstheir plans and put in placemonitoring arrangements toensure that all firms take a fairand consistent approach totheir review. The Central Bank’s mainconcerns arising from theinspection are:• institutions not gathering

sufficient information toenable them to determinewhether the product soldwas suitable for the con-sumer;

• institutions treating certainsales as ‘execution only’without complying withthe relevant requirementsof the 2006 Code;

• the timing of the provisionof key information to con-sumers by firms;

• failure to bring key infor-mation on policies explic-itly to the attention ofindividual consumers; and

• poor record-keeping andincomplete files.

Payment protectioninsurance is intendedto cover repaymentson a loan or other formof credit for a specifiedamount of time if thepolicy-holder suffersan accident, illness orredundancy. In somecases, life cover mayalso be included. Many institutionsoffer this type of policywhen consumers applyfor credit in the form ofa mortgage, personalloan, motor loan, creditcard or store card. Around 340,000policies are estimatedto have been sold byIrish institutions betweenAugust 2007 andNovember 2011.

PPI abuse reflects obsession with malign sales culture

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Sometimes Ithink it wouldbe easier toavoid old age,to die young,but then you'dnever completeyour life, wouldyou? You'dnever whollyknow you.Marilyn Monroe

CRIME SELDOM PAYSApart altogether from issues of ethics and criminality, robbing banks is generallya poorly paid career, according to a recent study by a team of economists fromthe Universities of Sussex and Surrey. The report also found that often the loss tothe bank from a robbery may be less than the cost of installing some of the securitydevices designed to deter raiders. This may explain why some institutions haveappeared reluctant to invest in security.

See Page 18

BLOWING THE WHISTLEThe recent publication by the Government in the Republic of the draft outline ofthe Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill 2012 marks a vital step forwardin offering the prospect of protection for workers who come forward to blow thewhistle on wrongdoing, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. If enacted, this legislation will be a major advance on the previous patchworkof protections that has left many workers at risk.

See Page 19

TIME TO CUTTHE JARGONFinancial institutions have been told bythe Central Bank to use plain Englishwith consumers and to explain policiesand products more clearly.

See Page 20

TIME TO SIT

Standing for long periods at workwhile pregnant may curb the growthof the developing foetus, accordingto a new report from researchers inHolland.

See Page 22

CONTINUALCHANGE BADFOR BUSINESSEmployees need time to adjust afterchange, not be thrust again and againinto new periods of uncertainty.

See Page 23


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Olympic suppliersbid to cash in onLondon Gamesby abusingworkers’ rights

Asthe global media preparesto focus on possible drug

abuse by athletes as London2012 draws near, the Olympicmovement stands accused ofdoing too little too late on amuch more widespread form ofabuse – the abuse of workersinvolved in the manufacture ofmany products that will featureprominently during the Games. A new report reveals thatworkers making London 2012Olympic sportswear for topbrands and high street namesincluding Adidas and Next arebeing paid poverty wages,forced to work excessive over-time and threatened withinstant dismissal if they com-plain about working conditions. Researchers working for thePlayfair 2012 campaign visitedten factories – eight of whichwere producing Olympic goods– in China, the Philippines andSri Lanka, and talked to 175workers about their workingconditions. The report, Fair games?:Human rights of workers inOlympic 2012 supplier factories,documents a range of workinghours, pay and safety abuses. In China, for example, at anAmerseas Enterprises Factoryproducing sportswear for theOlympics sponsor, Adidas,

workers said they were unableto wear the safety masks toprotect against dust because ofunrealistic production targets. The Playfair 2012 campaign– which is supported by theBritish Trades Union Congressand Labour Behind the Label –says this additional evidenceshould increase the pressureon the International OlympicCommittee (IOC) to improvethe conditions for workers inOlympic supply chains in therun up to the next games in Riode Janeiro in 2016. The campaign recognisesthat, following engagementwith Playfair 2012, the LondonOrganising Committee of theOlympic and Paralympic Games(LOCOG) has gone further thanany of its predecessors in re-quiring suppliers and licenceesto comply with internationalstandards and by developing acomplaints mechanism so thatviolations can be reported,investigated and resolved. However, the report notes,“although the majority of pro-duction is likely to have alreadytaken place, LOCOG is only

now in the process of develop-ing training for some workers,and workers across its supplychain have not been madeaware in their local languagesof their rights or how to use thecomplaints mechanism. While LOCOG has revealedsome of its supply chain loca-tions – mainly in the UK andChina – others are unidentifiedso that it is impossible for localunions to verify its claims thatits suppliers are respecting thehuman rights of workers. “Despite the best intentionsof the London organisers andtheir confidence that factoryaudits would… expose anyabuses, this report shows thatthere have been goods made inOlympic supply chains wherethe workers were treated in away that cannot be describedas ethical,” said TUC GeneralSecretary, Brendan Barber. “We hope that the IOCcan benefit from the LOCOGexperience and ensure that thelessons learned in 2012 leadto better and fairer workingconditions for those producingsportswear or merchandise inthe run up to Rio 2016,” headded. “There is much, too,in this report for sportswearbrands and our high streetchains to take on board.”

Multinationalbrands andretailers

The following brandsand retailers wererecorded as sourcingfrom the factoriesinvestigated in thePlayfair 2012 report:

China• Adidas

The Philippines• Adidas• Brooks• New Balance• Saucony• The North Face• Under Armour

Sri Lanka• Adidas• Ann Taylor• Columbia

Sportswear • Lane Bryant• Lululemon

Athletica• Next• Nike• Soma Intimates• Speedo• Victoria’s Secret

GoingforGold

“Olympism seeks to create away of life based on... respectfor universal fundamentalethical principles.”

Olympic Charter 2011

The Olympic countdown clock in Trafalgar Square, London

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Apart altogether from issuesof ethics and criminality,

robbing banks is generally apoorly paid career, accordingto a recent study by a team ofeconomists from the Universitiesof Sussex and Surrey. The average proceeds froma bank robbery in the UK were£20,331, with a third of rob-beries yielding nothing at all. The average takings foreach raider involved in asuccessful raid were around£12,706.60 – or less than sixmonths' pay at the averagewage. The results were publishedin Significance, the magazineof the Royal Statistical Societyand the American StatisticalAssociation. Based on data supplied bythe British Bankers' Association,the researchers constructed an

Crime seldom pays –and certainly not very much!British researches study economics of bank robberies

economic model for a career inbank robbing – balancing theraider’s gains against potentiallosses. One of these potentiallosses was the possibility ofbeing arrested and convicted –which, according to the study,was most likely after the fourthraid – with a long prison sen-tence the typical outcome. In conducting their “cost-benefit analysis” of bank raids,the economists also identifiedfactors which might influencethe success or failure of bankraids. These factors include thenumber of raiders involved,the use of firearms, the activa-tion of alarms, the number ofbank staff and customers pres-ent during the event, and thedeployment of bank securitymeasures.

Of these, fast-rising secu-rity screens, which are presentin only 12% of British banksappeared to be most effective,reducing the probability of asuccessful raid by one third. However, since the financiallosses to banks through raidsare reasonably low – comparedwith the cost of installingadditional fast-rising screens– this might explain their lowprevalence. Although the authorsrecognise that bank robberiesinvolve other costs – such associal and psychological ones–– it may be the case that someinstitutions have adopted arather simplistic accountant’sapproach to the issue whichcalculates that the protectionof staff and customers rateslower than the protection ofthe bank’s bottom line.

The reportfound that oftenthe loss to thebank may be lessthan the cost ofinstalling someof the securitydevices designedto deter raiders.

This mayexplain whysome institutionshave appearedreluctant toinvest insecurity.

Barrow and Parker: Despite Hollywood’soften romantic portrayal of bank robbers, the realityis far from glamorous and rarely as lucrative forthe perpetrators.


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Legislationmust beeffective

Properprotectionis vital

Blowing the Whistle

Effective protection for whistleblowers is akey ingredient in the change in operatingculture which is vital for the recovery ofIrish banking.

If such protection had been in placeduring the latter years of the ‘Celtic Tigerera’, then IBOA’s concerns about troublingdevelopments in Irish banking might havebeen taken more seriously by the authorities.

A climate of fear has continued to ensurethat employees have been unwilling tocome forward.

This climate ensures that most bankstaff believe that if they stick their necks out,there is every likelihood that they wouldnot only be managed out of their currentemployment but also be effectively black-listed in terms of future employment inIrish banking.

This must change.

If enacted, this legislationwill be a major advance on theprevious patchwork of pro-tections that has left manyworkers at risk of falling be-tween the gaps in protection. The draft outline incorpo-rates many of the recommen-dations previously made byCongress and is generally inline with the international bestpractice. However, according to theICTU, the proposed protectionagainst reprisals by employersfalls short of what is requiredand compares unfavourablywith international and bestpractice standards. If whistle-blowers in theUK are threatened with dis-missal, for example, they canapply for “interim relief” –

which means that they will bere-instated in the job until thecase is finally decided. Without this vital protection,a whistleblower would mostlikely be at risk of financial ruin– facing the prospect of beingout of work and waiting foryears until the issue was re-solved through the legal process. There can be no doubt thatfear of losing their jobs wouldprevent workers back fromraising concerns. To be credible the newlegislation needs to protectworkers in reality as well as onpaper, says Congress. The absence of this crucialprovision is a major omission,according to Congress, especiallysince the draft legislation has

⁄

The recent publication by the Government in the Republic ofthe draft outline of the Protected Disclosures in the Public

Interest Bill 2012 marks a vital step forward in offering theprospect of protection for workers who come forward to blowthe whistle on wrongdoing, according to the Irish Congress ofTrade Unions.

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taken UK law as a blueprint inall other matters. Congress is also keen thatthe law should protect whistle-blowers against long-term andenduring discrimination in theform of blacklisting by futureemployments. Congress has also arguedthat there should be no servicerequirement or qualificationperiod before the protectionfor whistleblowers kicks in:“workers should not be forcedto keep quiet waiting until theyare covered by the legislation,”says the ICTU.

Code of PracticeCongress has also stronglyurged Government to developa Statutory Code of Practice tounderpin the operation of thelegislation in the workplace. This code should set outmodel policies and proceduresto be put in place – includingmeasures to be taken to protectthe confidentiality of whistle-blowers, procedures formaking internal disclosuresand formats for reporting backon investigations.

Union RepresentationCongress believes that workersshould be free to seek help,advice and representation fromtheir union. Like the principle ofprivilege between lawyers andtheir clients, the ICTU arguesthat when whistleblowersdiscuss their disclosures withtheir trade unions in order toget support, information orrepresentation, then this shouldalso be considered to be aprotected disclosure under thenew legislation.

Vicarious LiabilityTo ensure that whistleblowersare also protected from anyadverse treatment by theiremployer’s customers andclients, by contractors or evenother employees, Congress isrecommending that the newlaw should also make theemployer vicariously liable forany adverse treatment of thiskind, along the lines of similarprovisions in employmentequality legislation.

S

In a review of the implementation ofthe new consumer protection code intro-duced at the start of the year, the regulatorfound that most institutions are makingsatisfactory progress in training staff to dealwith the new rules. However, some areas are in need ofimprovement, according to the CentralBank – such as the use of plain Englishto explain financial terms properly sothat consumers have clear and accurateinformation. The institutions have also been told totake account of the needs of vulnerableconsumers, including those with physicaldisabilities – such as visual or hearingimpairments – as well as those withintellectual disabilities.

Makingcents.ieThe Central Bank’s focus on jargon followsthe publication of research showing that

many people have difficulties understand-ing common financial terms – such as APR,equity and compound interest – as well asadding up a bill or understanding a pay slip. A joint initiative between the NationalAdult Literacy Agency (NALA) and EBS,MakingCents.ie tries to tackle this problemby providing tools to help users understandmore about money and financial matters sothat when they make important financialdecisions they understand what they aresigning up to and are comfortable withtheir choices. Makingcents.ie seeks to explain inplain English common financial productsand the terms and procedures which finan-cial institutions apply. Although the website cannot providespecialised money advice, it aims to helppeople make informed decisions by equip-ping them with the right questions to askand the key points to look out for.

No more jargonIf in doubt, leave it out – or find a clearerway to say it – says regulatorFinancial institutions have been told by the Irish Central Bank to use plain English

when dealing with consumers. They should also make a special effort to explainpolicies and products to older people or the less educated.


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Keep your fingeron the pulse…

Check out www.iboa.ie orwww.iboa.org.uk for all thelatest news and much more

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SHORT STORIES NEWS REVIEW SAFETY FOCUS IBOA NEWS

Access tosick leave is effectivelypay-relatedin USWorkers at the top of the

wage scale in the USare more than four times aslikely to have paid sick daysthan workers toiling near thebottom wage scale, accordingto a recent report by the Eco-nomic Policy Institute (EPI). The Economic Snapshotfound just 19% of low wageworkers have paid sick days inthe US, compared with 86% ofhigh-wage workers. These lowincome workers are the oneswho can least afford to lose paywhen they are sick. Overall one in four workershave no paid sick days and whenthey become ill, are forced togo to work sick, or stay homewithout pay and risk losingtheir job. The national trade unionfederation, the AFL-CLO,reports recent surveys show thatthree-quarters of Americansbelieve that paid sick leaveshould be a “basic workers’right” and that Congress shouldpass legislation that guaranteespaid sick leave for workers. More than 160 countriesprovide paid sick leave, but notthe United States.

Dutch researchers, who published theirfindings online recently in the journal,Occupational and Environmental Medicine,assessed the foetal growth rates of 4,680mums-to-be from early pregnancy onwardsbetween 2002 and 2006. Midway through their pregnancy,the women were questioned about theirworking conditions and the physicaldemands of their jobs, includingwhether these involved lifting, longperiods of standing or walking, nightshifts and long working hours. 38.5% of the women spent a longtime on their feet and 45.5% had towalk for long periods. Heavy liftingwas part of the job for just 6%,while around 4% worked nightshifts. The results showed thatphysically demanding workand long working hours were

not consistently associated with restrictionson overall size or birth weight, or withpremature birth. Nor did working up to 34 or 36 weeksof pregnancy have any adverse impact onfoetal development. But women who spent long periods ontheir feet during their pregnancy, in jobssuch as sales, childcare, and teaching,had babies whose heads were anaverage of 1 cm (3%) smaller thanaverage at birth, implying a slowergrowth rate.

Those who worked more than 40hours a week had smaller babiesthan those who worked under 25hours a week.

Previous research has alsoindicated that long workinghours may increase the risk ofbirth defects, premature birth,

stillbirth and low birth weight.

TimeTo Sitdown onthe job

Standing for long periods at work while pregnant may curb the growth of thedeveloping foetus, new research indicates.

Standingat workis bad forpregnant women


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It’s your rightto work insafety andsecurity!The IBOA Safety, Health,Welfare and Security (SHWS)Committee aims to work withmembers and employers tocreate healthier, safer workingenvironments for everyone. IBOA has produced guide-lines on your rights under healthand safety legislation in theRepublic and Northern Ireland. These can be accessed onthe IBOA websites by followingthese links:• www.iboa.ie/knowyourrights/yourrightsroi/health-safety.html for the Republic ofIreland; and• www.iboa.org.uk/knowyourrights/yourrightsni.html forNorthern Ireland. If you have any questionsor concerns about health, safetyor security in your workplace,please contact a member of yourlocal health and safety commit-tee in the first instance. If there is no health andsafetycommittee in your work-place, please contact one ofthe following members of theUnion’s National Committee: Elaine Barker (BOI), CarmelCurran (FTB), Margaret Power(BOI-GB), Stephen Kennedy(BOI), Etain Ryan Lyons (AIB),Jaynette Stirling (UBG-NI), KateVarley (AIB) and Billy Barrett,Senior Industrial RelationsOfficer. You can contact all of theseby e-mail at [email protected] or byphone at 00-353-(0)1-4755908or 00-44-(0)2890-200130.

Many employees feel it to be trueand now research has proved it –

businesses really don’t care how constantchange affects their staff. Business failure is directly related tosenior managers not understanding orcaring that change can knock a workforceoff its feet, according to researchers fromthe University of Portsmouth BusinessSchool. In their study, Continuous organisa-tional change and burnout, published inthe International Journal of Knowledge,Culture and Change Management, GaryRees and Sally Rumbles found alarmingresults. “Employees are an organisation’s mostvaluable asset and collectively have thepower to help businesses survive andthrive in bad times as well as in good,” Reescommented. “Managers seem to think they have alicence to change, but our research hasshown high-level executives admit onlyabout a third of changes they’ve made aresuccessful and have helped sustain theircompany through turbulent times.”

“Employers and senior managers needto stop foisting continual change upontheir staff in a bid to stay viable as a busi-ness,’ he said. “The secret is not to ignore the factchange can threaten the staff who, in turn,can become exhausted, cynical or depressed,which destabilises the organisation.” “The worst thing is that those who aremore likely to burnout in the workplace arethe most engaged and hardworking staff,”added his colleague, Sally Rumbles. “If a business loses those people, thenit risks destabilising the business. Insteadof seeing people as the most importantasset and what gives a business itscom petitive advantage, too many seniormanagers think what is good for businessis good for the workers.” “Continual change can feel likebereavement and employees need time torecover and adjust after change, not bethrust again and again into new periodsof uncertainty and new initiatives andrestructuring. Businesses need to planchange, execute it and then tell staff theturmoil is over.”

Employee anxietyis bad for businessConstant change is more likely to resultin staff burn out, say researchers

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Women whoseek to beequal withmen lackambition.Marilyn Monroe

10% off all productspurchased in theRepublic ofIreland orNorthern Irelandon presentationof your IBOAmembershipcard in store.

DUFFY PLANSSMALLER AIBAIB has informed its staff that it intendsto close a number of its branches asits customers will be able to do morebusiness at post offices in future.

See Page 26

HANNA RETAINSNIC-ICTU SEATIBOA Senior Industrial Relations Officer,Gerry Hanna, has secured re-electionto the Northern Ireland Committee ofthe Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

See Page 27

HISTORIC BANK SECRETARIESCONFERENCE IN GALWAY

IBOA’s recent Bank District Secretaries’ Conference in Galway had just abouteverything – with a thoughtful and at times emotional celebration of the Union’spast amid serious contemplation of Irish banking’s future and IBOA’s vital role ininfluencing it.

See Page 28-29

UNION APPOINTSNEW OFFICIALBilly Barrett has rejoined the staff ofIBOA as Senior Industrial RelationsOfficer with responsibility for AIB andUlster Bank.

See Page 27

ROBERT CALLSIT A DAY

Robert Thompson has decided tostand down as IBOA’s Danske GroupOfficer and Executive Committeemember as he leaves Northern Bank.

See Page 30

Ulster Bankchief’s bonusgesture is necessarystep in bidto rebuildBank’sreputation –Broderick


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Boss’sbogusbonusbogey

The decision by the ChiefExecutive of Ulster Bank,

Jim Brown, to forgo any bonusthat might have been awardedfor this year has been welcomedby IBOA General Secretary,Larry Broderick, who addedthat, “even before the currentcrisis, there was somethingsurreal about providing extrarewards to the boss of a loss-making business which earlierthis year announced plans fora further 950 job losses.” “While we acknowledge thatthe current unprecedented diffi-culties clearly originated in RBS,the handling of the ongoing fall-out by Ulster Bank has raisedserious concerns for the bank’sown customers as well as othersaffected by the consequences ofthe event,” said the IBOA leader. “Apart from the immediateissue of restoring a full andeffective banking service, a keytask for the Bank will be to re-establish trust with its customers,restore faith with its staff andrebuild confidence with thepublic at large. “Jim Brown’s decision on hispersonal finances can be seen inthis context. But this gestureshould be accompanied byfurther substantive measureswhich will be of enduringbenefit to all of Ulster Bank’scustomers.

"In view of the huge damageto its reputation, Ulster Bankshould follow up on its commit-ment to provide compensation –by setting out an agreedindependent mechanism forthe lodging, assessing andsettling of claims for both itsown customers and those ofother institutions who have beenadversely affected by the crisis. “The Bank also needs to putin place a genuinely effectiverisk management plan whichwould not only seek to minimisethe risk of any technologicalfailure – but also lay down clearprocedures and processes to befollowed in the event of such afailure in the future,” he said. “In this case, it is clear thatthe delays in resolving the ITproblems for Ulster Bank wereexacerbated by the fact that theywere enmeshed in the computersystems of RBS and NatWest Bank. “The independent review,which RBS has committed toconduct into this affair, mustgive serious consideration to theprovision of a stand-alone ITfacility for Ulster Bank – and atthe very least review the archi-tecture of the RBS system which,whether by historical accident orotherwise, has resulted in adifferent level of service to UlsterBank customers compared toothers in the RBS Group.

“As a further measure to re-build confidence, RBS should alsogive a clear and unambiguouscommitment to the future oper-ation of Ulster Bank in Ireland –including the provision of thenecessary support to staff toensure that Ulster can become afully functioning bank as soonas possible. One of the majorlessons that has come out of thiscatastrophic situation has beenthe sterling performance of theBank’s frontline staff in thebranches and call centres. “The Union’s belief in thequality and dedication of itsmembers in Ulster Bank hasbeen confirmed by the glowingtributes that have been paid inthe media by customers, who,despite their obvious frustrationwith the responses from theBank’s senior management,have praised the frontline stafffor their unfailing patienceand courtesy in such difficultcircumstances. “These staff have made a realdifference in getting the Bankthrough this crisis. I hope theBank will continue to recognisethe significance of their roleafter the dust settles – and willensure that this role is properlysupported within the newoperational framework that isbeing developed in Ulster Bank,”said the IBOA leader.


Brown off: Ulster Bank Chief Executive,Jim Brown, leaves Dáil Éireann by car, afterappearing before the Oireachtas Financeand Public Expenditure Committee toanswer questions on the crisis in UlsterBank arising from the RBS computer failure.(Photo: Sam Boal, Photocall-Ireland).

Staff key: Ulster Bankshould remember the keyrole played by frontline staffin crisis – IBOA GeneralSecretary, Larry Broderick(Photo: Sasko Lazarov,Photocall-Ireland).

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AIB has informed its staffthat it intends to close a

number of its branches in theRepublic as its customerswill be able to conduct moretransactions at post offices inthe future. AIB recently reached anagreement with An Post toco-operate on extending therange of banking servicescurrently available in postoffices. New services to be intro-duced in the coming monthsare likely to include chequelodgements and depositaccount transactions. Media commentators havespeculated that as many as 90branches – including many inrural areas – could close. AIBcurrently operates 270 outletsexcluding its EBS subsidiary. In a strategy update to staffAIB’s senior management said:“Regrettably this means thatthe number of branches willreduce as part of the move tolower costs. “But through the use ofmobile banks and newbranch openings in selectedareas, AIB will bring bankingservices to new locations.”

Duffy plans forsmaller bank

The Union’s AIB ExecutiveCommittee met AIB Group

Chief Executive, David Duffy,earlier this month to discussthe senior management’sstrategy for the future of AIBGroup and the implicationsfor the staff of the Bank. Mr Duffy outlined hisvision for the Bank as follows:• a new Bank model with

greater customer focus;• a One Bank structure with

a new management team;• a restructure of the Retail

network across UK andRepublic of Ireland involv-

ing some branch closures;• a return to profitability by

2014; and• engagement with key stake

holders including IBOAand staff – with the ChiefExecutive committing tofull consultation andnegotiation with the Unionin line with the agreedPartnership Principles.

While the IBOA team – ledby General Secretary, LarryBroderick – welcomed theChief Executive's commitmentto full negotiation with the

⁄

Intensivetalks getstartedbetweenAIB andIBOA

Branchclosuresplanned inRepublic afterAIB links upwith An Post

Duffy’s circus: AIB Group Chief Executive, David Duffy, at the Bank’s recent AGM(Photo: Laura Hutton, Photocall-Ireland)


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…and Billy’sback, tooBilly Barrett has returned to the staff of IBOA as a

Senior Industrial Relations Officer. Billy left the service of the Union in 2008 to becomeHead of Human Resources for the Superquinn super-market chain. Billy’s replacement in IBOA was Steve Tweed wholeft the Union last December to become Director ofIndustrial Relations at the Irish Medical Organisation. Billy has now assumed particular responsibility fornegotiations on behalf of IBOA members in AIB andUlster Bank.

IBOA’s Senior IndustrialRelations Officer, Gerry

Hanna, has secured re-election to the NorthernIreland Committee of theIrish Congress of TradeUnions (NIC-ICTU) foranother two-year term.

He was re-elected at therecent NIC-ICTU BiennialDelegate Conference in theCity Hotel, Derry. The Conference alsobacked a comprehensivemotion from IBOA on thecontinuing fall-out from

the banking crisis – high-lighting its impact on jobsand services to customers –and pledging support forIBOA’s ongoing efforts tochange the culture ofbanking in both NorthernIreland and the Republic.

Billy Barrett

Union, they also highlightedthe major contribution whichhas already been made by IBOAmembers in AIB during themost difficult of circumstancesin order to maintain the Bank’srelationships with customers. The IBOA team stressedthat the success of the Bankwould depend on the following:• agreement on a Fair Deal to

Stay for staff who wish toremain in the Bank;

• delivery of all aspects of theagreement brokered by themediator, Kevin Foley, formembers who wish toleave the bank voluntarily;

• full transparency about theBank’s plans in each area –including its proposals forthe branch network, out-sourcing and for all supportstructures;

• full engagement with IBOAon outstanding issues suchas pay, pensions and termsand conditions of employ-ment in line with thePartnership Principles.

Next StepsAs a result of the meeting, AIBsenior management and IBOAhave agreed on a number ofmeasures. The Bank has now begunto review all the applicationsreceived from staff for volun-tary severance and early retire-ment in line with the Foleyagreement. Senior management hasalso pledged to honour therequirement from the mediatorto enable the Bank’s staff tomake informeddecisions abouttheir future. The Bank has committedto provide timely informationto IBOA and staff on the Bank'sspecific proposals in each areaincluding timelines for theirimplementation. Intense negotiations havealso begun now between IBOAand the Bank on the ChiefExecutive’s earlier announce-ment on proposals on pay,pensions and benefits. Theseare expected to be concludedby September 2012.

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Gerry gets back…At the rostrum: IBOA Senior Industrial Relations Officer, Gerry Hanna, addresses the recent Biennial DelegateConference of the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (NIC-ICTU) at the City Hotelin Derry (Photo: Kevin Cooper/Photoline).

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SPECSAPPEALFORIBOAMEMBERS

E30 off glasses from the E149 range or abovein the Irish Republic

£20 off glasses from the £99 range or above inGreat Britain and Northern Ireland

To receive your SpecSavers discount voucher,call 0(0-353-)1-4755908 or 0(0-44-)2890-200130.

Bank DistrictSecretariesConferenceG a l w a y 2 0 1 2

ON SCREEN: UnionGeneral Secretary, LarryBroderick, is interviewedfor RTE television newsduring a break in theConference (Photo: TadhgKeady).

ActionpackedeventMemorable inmany ways

The Union’s Bank DistrictSecretaries Conference in

May at the Clayton Hotel inGalway was most memorable. From the opening session ofthe Conference –which includeda celebration of the Union’s past– right through to the breakingnews on the second day of majordevelopments in AIB Group andBank of Ireland – following hardon the heels of earlier substantiveannouncements in Ulster Bank

and Danske Bank, the Con -ference could truly be describedas historic. The opening session sawthe official launch of HandlingChange: A History of the IBOA,written by Dr. Paul Rouse andMark Duncan, who were bothin attendance along with pub-lisher, Con Collins, as well as anumber of former Presidentsand former General Secretary,Ciaran Ryan.

⁄

Up close and personal: PatBrady, Director of Workplace Solutions,addressed delegates on how tradeunions can address the growth in thenumber of individual – as opposed tocollective issues – including personalcases involving employee grievancesand threats of disciplinary action byemployers (Photo: Tadhg Keady).

THE FUTURE IS AT STAKE

WE ARE STAKEHOLDERS


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The Phantom of the Opera Bord Gais Energy Theatre, 27 July 2012, 6:30pNormal Price: E55 IBOA Price: E45

SOLD OUT

The context for the book’skey themes was admirably setby Professor Bill Roche fromUCD who also paid tribute tothe authors’ skill in bringing thesubject matter to life so vividly.The session also featured a videocollage with images of some ofthe key events and personalitieswoven into the rich tapestry ofIBOA’s history. Aside from formulatingresponses to the major industrialrelations developments in key

employments – which are out-lined elsewhere in this issue ofSpectrum, delegates also hearda number of presentations onimportant developments takingplace in the Union – includingpreparations for the launch ofan online basic training coursefor IBOA Reps, ongoing work oncreating an IBOA app for tabletcomputers based on Spectrum,and recent developments in theUnion’s activities on health,safety and security.

Guest speakers, Alan Tateand Pat Brady, also provideduseful updates for delegates onemerging trends in the areasof trade union organising andresponses to the increasingincidence of personal cases,respectively. In between this action-packed agenda, delegates alsoavailed of the opportunity to net-work informally and exchangeexperiences.

S

APPRECIATION:Applause from some ofthe delegates at the BankDistrict Secretaries Con-ference in Galway (Photo:Tadhg Keady).

Organising through the crisis: Guest speaker, Alan Tate, from the UNIGlobal Union Federation made a veryinsightful presentation on how tradeunions in the financial services sectorare responding to the global crisis bybuilding their membership strength inorder to defend jobs, pay, terms andconditions (Photo: Tadhg Keady).

Bank DistrictSecretariesConferenceG a l w a y 2 0 1 2

THE FUTURE IS AT STAKE

WE ARE STAKEHOLDERS

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Published by the Collins Press – and written by PaulRouse and Mark Duncan, Handling Change, was

specially commissioned by the Union. The evolution of the IBOA offers a fascinatingpicture of Ireland – not least of how banking movedfrom a thoroughly conservative industry to one soreckless as to bankrupt the Irish State. IBOA has a limited number of copies of the bookfor sale to members at the special discount price of E10or £8 (including postage and packing). To order up to two copies at the special discountprice, please send your name, address, the number ofcopies required and your IBOA membership number –together with a cheque or postal order for the appropriateamount to IBOA History Orders at IBOA House, StephenStreet Upper, Dublin 8 or e-mail [email protected].

HandlingChangeA history of IBOA

Robert callsit a day

On the move:(above)former Danske Bank GroupOfficer, Robert Thompson,has now resigned fromNorthern Bank.

On the line: (aboveright) Robert Thompson(right) on picket dutyduring the 1994 strike inNorthern Bank.

IBOA’s Danske Bank GroupOfficer, Robert Thompson,

has decided to avail of recentdevelopments in NorthernBank to pursue his career out-side the Danske Bank Group. Accordingly he has resignedfrom the Union Executive andfrom his post as Danske BankGroup Officer. IBOA General Secretary,Larry Broderick, paid tribute toRobert for “his excellent serviceto the Union’s members inNorthern Bank over sixteenyears –particularly in his role asBank Officer” representing staffin Northern Bank and NationalIrish Bank in National AustraliaGroup and latterly Danske Bank. In addition to his immediaterepresentative role, Robert also

developed a keen interest inworkplace health and safety –achieving a higher level quali-fication –and representing IBOAwith distinction in a numberof fora dealing with the issue. He was deeply committedto membership training andserved on the Union’s NationalEducation Committee.

Robert was also a long-standing member of the BelfastBankers’ Club Committee. His resignation leaves twovacancies in the Union – forExecutive Committee memberand for Danske Group Officer– which will be filled in duecourse in line with IBOA’sConstitution.


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THE IRISH BANKERS’ CLUBIBOA HOUSE, STEPHEN STREET UPPER, DUBLIN 8Telephone: 01-4758970 10am-12noon or after 5pm (Tuesday-Saturday).

CLUB OPENING HOURS:Tuesday-Saturday: 4.30pmuntil late.Sunday-Monday: closed.

Friday July 27:1st Prize – Two weeks holiday

for two in Portugal

Friday September 28:Two weeks holidayfor two to Majorca

Friday October 26:1st Prize – Two weeks holidayfor two to Seychelles and Dubai

Each monthly draw also offers2nd Prize: E300, 3rd Prize: E250,

4th Prize: 2100.

All Draws at 9pm. Bar Food Each Draw Night

from 5pm-10pm plus Big Attendance Prizes

UPCOMING CLUBDRAW NIGHTS

Results of recent Bankers’ Club drawsare posted on the IBOA websites:

www.iboa.ie/services/sportsandsocial/bankersclub.htmlwww.iboa.org.uk/services/

sportsandsocial/bankersclub.html

Magnificent Holidays and Magnificent Cash PrizesNB: 10 prizes of E100 each for early entries received by October 31, 2012

Still only E45 for 10 Great Draw Months

See Draw Application Forms included with this issue of Spectrum.

Coming Up:THE 27th BANKERS’ CLUB DRAW

New members welcome –Cost only E20 per annum!

Facilities include: • Reduced room hire rates• Bar and meeting room facilities.• Catering and DJ facilities available• Big screen for all sporting occasions• Full bar licence – extensions available

For more information, please contactMichael Martin, Honorary Secretary, IrishBankers’ Club at the address above.

CLUBMEMBERSHIP

All IBOA members, y kers’ Club for aparty or special function for just E100 for July-December 2012

Phone Alan at 01-4758970

Book your Christmas Party at the Bankers’ Club and enjoy free room hire during November and December!

Club BookingsSPECIAL OFFERS FOR 2012

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If you're goingto be two-faced, at leastmake one ofthem pretty!Marilyn Monroe

extrad

irect

Just show your IBOAmembership card at thegate and get free entryfor either 2 adults and 4children or 1 adult and 5children.

I•B•O•ASPORTSSO IAL

E•V•E•N•T

Don’t forget…

Entry to Dublin Zoo is FREE for IBOAmembers on Saturday September 1.

SUITE DEAL FOR IBOA MEMBERS IN NORTHERN IRELANDMinister for Employment and Learning, Dr. Stephen Farry, was on hand to endorse two major training initiatives by IBOA –the official opening of the Union’s computer training suite in the IBOA Offices in Malone Road, Belfast, and the signing of anew partnership agreement with the North-West Regional College for the provision of education and training courses for IBOAmembers in Northern Ireland.

See Page 34-35

BACK TO THE FUTUREThe Union’s Pensioners Members’ Committeegears up to campaign for fair treatment.

See Page 36

DIVERSITY AT WORKIBOA backs campaign for more tolerant workplace.

See Page 37


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Maintaining the Union’sstrength – and even

building it where possible – iscrucial to ensure that IBOAhas the bargaining power tosecure the best possible termsfor members in their relation-ships with employers, regulatorsand other Government agencies. Every member has a per-sonal interest in encouragingas many work colleagues aspossible to join IBOA so thatthe Union can exert the maxi-mum influence on behalf ofeveryone in the employment.

Despite the unprecedentedcrisis in the financial servicessector, IBOA has managedto ensure that any job losseswould be voluntary and thatmajor changes to terms andconditions of employmentshould be negotiated andagreed before implementation. The Union has managedto achieve this – even thoughin some cases it representsless than half of the staff in aparticular employment. So just imagine how muchmore effective the Union

uld be – if it had highermbership levels – not just the employments whereOA already has memberst also in other parts of theancial services sector.

To assist members who wish approach work colleagues tocourage them to join IBOA,ecific resource materials arew available for members townload from the Unionbsites – including PDFs,werpoint presentations andord files.

These resources include: Techniques and Tips forOrganising;

Powerpoint Presentation forNon-Members;

IBOA Notice Board Poster Identifying Growth Potential:Mapping Your Workplace;

• Dealing with Objectionsfrom Non-Members; and

• Membership ApplicationForm

These resources are availableat www.iboa.ie/my/strength/ orwww.iboa.org.uk/my/strength/. For further information,please contact our OrganisingOfficial, Gareth Murphy, inIBOA House at 00-353-1-4755908 or 00-44-2890-200130or [email protected].


Now more than ever

It’s time to build the Union

Gareth Murphy,IBOA Organising

Official

work through the financialservices sector here. “IBOA is endeavouring toassist our members in a varietyof ways – both in terms of thetraditional industrial relationsagenda and other vocationalsupports – which can provide

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34

Minister for Employmentand Learning in Northern

Ireland, Dr. Stephen Farryperformed the official openingof the new computer trainingsuite in a ceremony lastmonth at the IBOA offices inMalone Road, Belfast. The Minister also endorseda new partnership agreementbetween the North WestRegional College (NWRC) andIBOA under which the collegewill provide a number ofeducation programmes forUnion members across North-ern Ireland (see page opposite). Speaking at the launch,IBOA Training Officer, MarianGeoghegan, said: “Financeworkers in Northern Irelandface a very uncertain future.All of the major bankinggroups are retrenching – somemore dramatically than others. “It has been estimated thatup to 2,000 banking jobs couldhave been lost in NorthernIreland by the end of 2013as the repercussions of thisunprecedented global crisis

SPECTRUM july 2012

Suitedealfor Unionmembers inNorthernIreland

Minister backsIT trainingfor IBOAmembers

some measure of security inthese difficult times. “Our Computer TrainingSuite has already been put togood use by our first groups oflearners. So we are confidentthat it will make a real differ-ence for our members.”

Minister for Employmentand Learning, Dr. StephenFarry performs the formalopening of the Union’sIT training suite in Belfast– with IBOA President,Jessie Doherty (Photo:Kevin Cooper/Photoline).


I•B•O•ASPORTSS IAL

E•V•E•N•T

Take pridein yourunionEntry to BelfastZoo is FREE forIBOA memberson SaturdayOctober 6.

Just show your IBOA membership card at the gate and get free entryfor either 2 adults and 4 children or 1 adult and 5 children.

WORK AGENDA LIFE & STYLE ARTS & LEISURE


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Express trainingPartnership opens up new horizonsfor members in Northern IrelandIBOA’s training provision for mem-

bers in Northern Ireland has takena further step forward with the ratifi-cation of a partnership agreementbetween the Union and the NorthWest Regional College (NWRC) – oneof the foremost providers of adulteducation in the region. The formal signing of the agree-ment was witnessed by the Minister forEmployment and Learning, Dr. StephenFarry, whose Department has beenresponsible for administering theUnion Learning Fund which is likelyto support some of the training coursesto be provided under the new partner-ship arrangement. ”The Union Learning Fund helpsunions work in partnership withemployers to raise employees’ skillslevels and aspirations,” said Dr. Farry.“It also helps to ensure that we con-tinue to invest in the skills and talentsof our people – because it is people whowill get us through these challengingeconomic times. “This training commitment will bemade even more tangible by the partner-ship agreement between IBOA and theNorth West Regional College to pro-vide future learning opportunities forfinance workers.”

The College’s Principal and ChiefExecutive, Séamus Murphy, high-lighted the NWRC’s key aim to providequality education and training for all: “We are committed to providingprogrammes that respond flexibly tothe educational and training needs oflocal industry, and we are pleased tooffer this to our colleagues in the IBOA.This partnership will allow IBOAmembers to develop their lifelonglearning and enhance their careerprospects by accessing our portfolio ofbespoke upskilling courses.” IBOA Training Officer, MarianGeoghegan added that the Union wasconfident that “our growing relation-ship with the North West RegionalCollege will deliver further crucialsupport to them in the months andyears ahead. She also acknowledged that theselatest initiatives had been made possibleby IBOA’s involvement in the UnionLearning Project – which has beenfunded and supported by the Depart-ment of Employment and Learningthrough the Northern Ireland Committeeof the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.“The contribution of the Union Learn-ing Project supported by the Depart-ment cannot be overstated,” she said.

IBOA EXTRA

The Union Learning Fund forNorthern Ireland was establishedto promote activity by trade unionsin support of the Government’sobjective of creating a learningsociety. IBOA successfully appliedto become a Union Learningproject in 2011. Under this project, tradeunion members are encouragedto become Union Learning repre-sentatives (ULRs). A ULR is an activist who istrained to support learning in theworkplace and to advise membersabout learning opportunities. There is evidence that moreindividuals will undertake train-ing and education if they areoffered information, advice andsupport from a ULR. ULRs communicate directlywith fellow workers, employersand training providers to identifya range of learning opportunitiesand to make them available tothe workforce. Any members interested intaking on such a role in theirworkplace should call theUnion’s Training Officer, MarianGeoghegan, in IBOA House on(00-44)2890-200130 or e-mail herat [email protected].

Learned Reps: Two of IBOA’s UnionLearning Reps recently received diplomasfrom the Open College Network – John Burns(left) in Employment Law and Liam Ross inOccupational Health and Safety.

IBOA Training Officer, Marian Geoghegan, signs the partnership agreement, watched by John Huestonof the North West Regional College and Union President, Jessie Doherty (Photo: Kevin Cooper/Photoline).

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36

The Union’s PensionerMembers’ Committee

represents the interests ofIBOA members who opt tocontinue as Union memberswhen they leave the bank’sservice on pension. Many former bank staff,now on pension, have retainedtheir IBOA membership. Thisis to their benefit in severalrespects. They can make their con-cerns known to the Committeeand raise them at meetings forpensioner members – such asthe formal biennial meetingwhich elects the Committee,discusses a range of issues andhears a report from the GeneralSecretary Larry Broderick – aswell as at other meetings heldfrom time to time.

Keeping up to dateThere are social advantagesalso. Members enjoy meetingup again with former workcolleagues at meetings – thisis especially the case since somebanks cancelled the annualpensioners’ lunches! Also,pensioner members are keptup to date with major issues. Pensioner members alsoreceive Spectrum as well asother communications fromIBOA from time to time. Theyalso have access to the My IBOAarea of the Union websites –which is exclusive to membersand where they can learnabout the latest developmentsin each mployment and thelatest discounts on offer tomembers for various goods,services and social events.

RepresentationThe Pensioners’ Committee,which meets quarterly, playsan important role in IBOA. Itis represented at the Union’sBiennial Delegate Conferenceand may propose motionsfor debate which, if passed,become part of IBOA policy. The Committee’s Chairmanand Honorary Secretary meetIBOA’s General Secretary andHonorary Secretary on a regularbasis to discuss matters ofmutual interest and concern.

SPECTRUM july 2012

The Committee is affiliatedto the Irish Senior Citizens’Parliament – a key body whichinteracts with Government onmatters of concern to pension-ers and older people. The Parliament scrutiniseslegislative proposals comingfrom Government Departments– such as the Department ofHealth – and their likely effecton senior citizens. The Parliament also lobbieson the growing threats to occu-pational pensions, especiallyDefined Benefit schemes. The IBOA Pensioners’Committee plays an active rolein the Irish Congress of TradeUnions’ Retired Workers’Committee – which seeks torepresent the interests ofretired workers.

Still CampaigningWith the pay and terms andconditions of employment ofserving staff coming underincreasing pressure as bankscontinue to down-size, retiredmembers of IBOA have beenactive in writing to their localparliamentary representativesto outline the need to treat staff

with respect – particularly ininstitutions that are virtually100% State-owned. Pensioner members arewriting to their own formeremployers deprecating theattack on staff terms and con-ditions many of which areregarded as contractual.

How to JoinThis is simple. As membersretire from work on pension,they receive an application formfrom IBOA to rejoin the Union.The subscription is payabletwice yearly, in January andJuly and amounts to E22.36 or£16.40 each half year. With early retirementpackages on offer in many em-ployments, it is likely thatmany active Union membersmay now become pensioners.It is in their interest and that ofthe IBOA that they continuetheir association with the Unionwhen they retire. For more information onthe work of the Committee,you can contact any memberdirectly or send an email [email protected].

Ken Doyle

IBOA PensionerMembers’ Committee

The members of thecurrent committee are:

Hilary AchesonCecil BarronFrank CannonLeonard CooteKen Doyle

(Honorary Secretary)Maeve GannonColin GraceyBríd Keelty

Geraldine LanganMarie LohanTom Lydon

Michael MillerJohn McKenna

Margaret McGoldrickBrendan O’Donohue

(Chairman)Ted O’Leary

Seán O’SullivanFergus ReynoldsDes SheridanHarold Strong


Age is no barrier

Planning for the Future: The Union’s Pensioner Members’ Committee pictured at a recent meeting(Photo: Tommy Clancy)

Diversity Matters:Davin Roche, Director ofWorkplace Diversity forthe Gay and LesbianEquality Network (left)pictured with IBOA’sMarian Geoghegan atthe launch of the newExcellence in Diversityonline toolkit.


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How does your employermeasure up in regard to

their policies and practices onthe inclusion of lesbian, gayand bisexual employees? Notwell, according to some IBOAmembers who are interestedin developing greater inclusionin the workplace. IBOA was singled out byDavin Roche, Director ofWorkplace Diversity at theGay and Lesbian Network(GLEN), as a key support in thedesign of a new online toolkit,Excellence in Diversity, whichwas launched recently byDublin’s new Lord Mayor,Naoise Ó Muirí, and Jim Ryan,Director with Ernst and Young. In particular, he thankedIBOA Equality Officer, MarianGeoghegan, for assisting inthe development of the toolkitwhich has been piloted in thefinancial services and ITsectors. Marian has asked IBOAmembers, who wish to assistin progressing the LGBT agendain the financial services sector,to contact her by e-mail [email protected].

DON’T BE LATE FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT DATE!Once again, Cheerios and Cork Opera House aim to present the mostspectacular Christmas pantomime in the land.

Join Alice, Mad Hatter, The Tweedles, the White Rabbit and a host oftimeless characters as they set out on an adventure like no other in aquest to overthrow the villainous Red Queen and restore happiness tothe land known as Wonder. Featuring stunning scenery and specialeffects, this production will be a magical musical roller-coaster ride for allthe family.

IBOA is offering members tickets for the performance on Saturday,January 5, 2013 at 2.30pm at a special discounted rate of E20 comparedto the normal price of E27. These tickets are available from StephenKennedy at Bank of Ireland, 32 South Mall, Cork.

Excellence in Diversity is aquick and easy to use onlineself-assessment toolkit thathelps organisations to realisethe benefits of gay, lesbian bi-sexual and transgender diver-sity. It will help organisations to:• measure their diversity

performance against bestpractice standards

• receive practical guidance

on how to develop theirdiversity practice

• find different approachesto designing and imple-menting their workplacediversity strategy

• identify short-, medium-and long-term targets toimprove performance

The toolkit is accessible onwww.excellenceindiversity.ie

Seeking Inclusion ofGay, Lesbian andBisexual Employees

Excellence in Diversity

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Lionel Richie’sgreatest hits –country style

While the prospect ofLionel Richie answering thecall of Country raised manyeyebrows initially – and eveninfuriated some Country musicpurists – it has proved highlypopular with the public inthe US where Tuskegee is nowthe second biggest sellingalbum of 2012. Named after his hometown of Tuskegee, Alabama inAmerica’s Deep South, thenew album has been describedas “a journey of return andrevelation.”

“It’s about where I camefrom and how I arrived atwhere I am today,” says Richie. “I’ve come full circle. It’s avalidation. It’s a state of mind –aplace that represents possibilities,hope, promise, empowerment,and where dreams come true –no matter how old or youngyou are, or where you’re from.” In a remarkable careerspanning more than thirtyyears, Richie has sold over 100million albums; registered 22top 10 hits; and won fiveGrammys, a Golden Globe and

an Oscar for Best Original Score.He has also received a hostof other awards from virtuallyevery major entertainmentorganisation. Audiences are rarely dis-appointed with Lionel Richie’sexuberant live shows whichdraw from his very extensiverepertoire of songs from theearly days of the Commodores,through the memorable soulfulclassics of the 1980s to themore recent up-tempo popmaterial from the 2000s. IBOA is offering membersa special discount on ticketsfor the shows in Dublin’s O2and in Belfast’s Odyssey Arena– on a strictly first come, firstserved basis. Requests fortickets should be made withthe Sports and Social Depart-ment in IBOA House by tele-phoning 00-353-1-4755908 or00-2980-200130 or by loggingon to the Union websites.

Lionel Richie:The Tuskagee Tour

Monday September 24The O2 Dublin 7.30pm

Normal Price: E78.00plus E5.00 booking fee

Special IBOA Price: E65.00 Wednesday September 26Odyssey Arena Belfast7.30pm

Normal Price: £57.00plus £5.00 booking fee

Special IBOA Price: £45.00

I•B•O•ASP RTSSO IAL

E•V•E•N•T

Tuskagee tour focuses onsoul star’s Southern roots

The European leg of Lionel Richie’s Tuskegee tour kicks offat the O2 in Dublin on September 24, followed by Belfast’s

Odyssey Arena on September 26. The tour marks a new depar-ture for the former soul man into Country music, showcasinghis new album, Tuskegee, which features new treatments ofRichie’s greatest hits in duets with major country artists likeWillie Nelson, Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers and Jimmy Buffett.

IBOA Family DayTayto Park, Ashbourne, C . Meath

Saturday 28th July 2012

Normal Price: E12 per ticket

Special BOA Price: E6 per ticket

SOLD OUT


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Just becauseyou fail once,doesn't meanyou're gonnafail at every-thing. Keeptrying andbelieve inyourself!Marilyn Monroe

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LEGACY FROM THE DARK AGES

Irish Bank Resolution Corporation moves to address a long-standing issue forformer Irish Nationwide staff.

See Page 42

FAIR DEAL TOSTAY IN AIBAIB staff meet to develop campaign toprotect pay, terms and conditions forthe staff who will remain with the Bankafter the restructure.

See Page 44

ULSTER SAYSSORRYAs RBS Chair, Sir Philip Hampton,apologises to Ulster Bank staff for theRBS IT foul-up, Ulster Bank manage-ment suspend restructure to assessthe damage.

See Page 45

AIB’S BRAVE NEW WORLD REQUIRESFURTHER SACRIFICES FROM STAFF

IBOA has rejected proposals from AIB's senior management to close down itsDefined Benefit pension scheme and to extend the current pay freeze for ordinarystaff until the end of 2014.

See Page 43-44

NIB CLOSURESRAISE FEARSProposals from Danske Bank to closedown National Irish Bank’s retail branchnetwork have raised concerns aboutthe strength of Danske’s commitment toIreland under new CEO Elvind Kolding.

See Page 46-47


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The Union’s Bank ofIreland negotiating team

has engaged in a series ofmeetings with Bank of IrelandGroup senior managementfollowing the acceptance ofnew Change ManagementAgree ment by a clear majorityin a recent ballot of IBOAmembers in Bank of IrelandGroup. “This agreement will formthe foundation for the conductof industrial relations withinthe Bank,” said IBOA SeniorIndustrial Relations Officer,Gerry Hanna. As well as finally securingagreement on the parting termsfor staff who opt to leave theBank voluntarily, IBOA membershave endorsed an agreementwhich in the current economicclimate, includes significantprovisions such as:• job security;• protection of terms and

conditions of employment;• an agreed process to man-

age change; and• a commitment to honour

existing agreements betweenIBOA and Bank of Irelandmanagement.

“Under the new deal betweenIBOA and the Bank, all changewill be negotiated with IBOA,”said Gerry Hanna.

“Management has alsogiven a commitment that allexisting agreements with theUnion will be honoured. “There will be no changeto terms and conditions ofemployment without advancenotice and negotiation withIBOA. “Any reduction in staffnumbers will be managed on avoluntary basis,” he said. “The Bank has also com-mitted to engage with IBOA onall aspects of reward, with aview to reaching an agreementwhen the Bank returns to prof-itability,” added IBOA Bank ofIreland Officer, David Keane.

“Any employees affectedby change will be managedwithin the key principlesdetailed in the Re-deployment,Relocation and Change Trans-ferability Agreement previouslynegotiated by IBOA,” addedDavid Keane. Severance terms withinthis agreement are available toeligible staff, who are beinginvited to apply as the Bankcarries out a phased restruc-ture of its business. A number of applicationsare to be sought from eachregion and business unit andwill be managed by the Bankover a period of time.

Protracted process of engagementIBOA has attempted to agree a Change Management Agreement with Bank of IrelandGroup since the Bank first introduced its EU Viability Plan in 2009. The first, brokered by independent mediator, Mark Connaughton, was agreed inJuly 2010 and allowed the Bank to restructure its business in line with its EU ViabilityPlan while protecting staff who were affected by this restructuring in Great Britain andNorthern Ireland. In April 2011, when the Bank tried to implement this agreement in the Republic ofIreland, it was blocked by the Republic’s Department of Finance. So IBOA re-engagedimmediately with the Bank’s senior management and with Mr. Connaughton – withthe result that revised terms were finalised in September 2011. When the Department of Finance again refused to endorse these new terms, theBank was unable to honour its agreement with IBOA. When the Bank attempted to rollout its change programme without agreement, IBOA withheld co-operation until a newround of negotiations was held – leading to a final agreement which was ratified in aballot of members.

Parting on goodterms: The full terms ofthe Change ManagementAgreement – including theprovisions for redundancyand early leaving – areavailable on the IBOA web-sites at www.iboa ie/bank-of-ireland/ or www.iboa.org.uk/bank-of-ireland/.

Members will need theirIBOA membership num-ber to access thesepages. The number isdisplayed on the IBOAmembership card. It is alsolisted on the Spectrumaddress label.

Banking onthe futureFramework forchange agreedat Bank ofIreland

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Endof anError?IBRC makes fullrefund paymentto settle long-standing INBSpension anomaly

After several months ofintense discussions on

the commission chargespaid by members of the IrishNationwide Building SocietyDefined Contribution pen-sion scheme between 1991and 2009, IBRC has made afull refund payment –whichhave been very well re-ceived by members.

The administration of thestaff pension scheme in IrishNationwide (INBS) was oneof a number of major concernsidentified by the memberswho joined IBOA in 2009 and2010 – following the demise ofthe previous managementregime, led by Chief Executive,Michael Fingleton. While the very generousterms of Mr. Fingleton’s own

pension pot have achieved acertain public notoriety, therest of the INBS employeeswere not so fortunate. Not only does the pensionfund they are to share amountto less than a quarter of the sizeof the former CEO’s personalnest-egg – but some ratherunusual charges were leviedon the members of the scheme. Rather than being treated asa standard employee pensionscheme which is administeredon a group basis, the INBSscheme was developed as anumber of individual plans –such as might have been soldto customers of the Societytaking out personal pensions –with the result that separatecommissions – amounting insome cases to many thousandsof euro –were charged to eachemployee who joined thescheme. When the Irish Bank Reso-lution Corporation (IBRC)took over the INBS business –and many former INBS staff –IBOA again raised the issue ofthe pensions “anomaly.” The refund payment madeby IBRC has been very wellreceived by members whoworked in the former INBSas yet another vindication oftheir decision to join IBOA.

INBS Headache: Theadministration of the staffpension scheme was oneof a number of unusualpractices at Irish Nation-wide Building Societyunder the stewardship offormer CEO of MichaelFingleton. (Photo: LeonFarrell, Photocall Ireland).

Your IBOA Subscriptions:

Claiming A RefundIf there is a change in your employment circumstances – like moving onto part-timehours or changing to job-sharing, you may be entitled to avail of a lower subscriptionrate. The current membership categories and rates are published on the IBOA websitesat www.iboa.ie/join/subscriptions.html and www.iboa.org.uk/join/subscriptions.html.

Please make sure you inform IBOA Head Office of any change as soon as possibleso that your subscription rate can be adjusted – and you receive prompt refund ofany overpayments.

Please note that the rebate for any overpayments will be capped at the amountoverpaid for the first 24 months after the change of status occurred.

You can check your personal profile online in the My IBOA Section of the Unionwebsites and make any necessary amendments there – or you can contact theMembership Department in Head Office at the address below.

Membership Department • IBOA The Finance Union • IBOA House • StephenStreet Upper • Dublin 8 • Tel: (00353)-1-4755908 or (0044)-2890-200130 •E-mail: [email protected]


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Larry Broderick: AIBmanagement needs torethink its approach tostaff remuneration (Photo:Tommy Clancy).

IBOA has rejected proposalsfrom AIB's senior manage-

ment to close down its DefinedBenefit pension scheme and toextend the current pay freezefor ordinary staff until the endof 2014. Union General Secretary,Larry Broderick, said that theBank’s attempt to further under-mine the overall remunerationof its ordinary staff was totallyunacceptable – in view of thesubstantial savings AIB hadalready made on staff coststhrough the reduction in staffnumbers that had already takenplace since 2008 and with evenmore savings anticipated infuture through the implement-ation of a major restructuringprogramme. “The move on the DefinedBenefit pension scheme wouldproduce relatively modest cost

savings for the Bank –but wouldhave a significant impact on theretirement income of manyordinary bank officials,” he said. “It would be particularlydistressing for staff who haverecently agreed to major changesin the scheme involving reducedbenefits and increased con-tri-butions. “As for the proposal to freezepay until the end of 2014, ourmembers throughout AIB Grouphave already endured a pay freezesince 2009. Indeed some of ourmembers have even been deniedcontractual payments – such asincrements and performanceawards – and unlawfully so, inthe view of recent industrialtribunals in London and Belfast. “At the same time, it hasbeen revealed that seniorexecutives in AIB Group havebeen in receipt of substantialbonuses during this period,

that a tiny minority of selectedstaff have received top-upawards known as retentionpayments and that the Bank hasalso engaged an army of con-sultants costing many millions,”he said. “If implemented, the Bank’slatest proposals would furthererode our members’ livingstandards at a time when AIBstaff are being asked to makeeven more sacrifices in the mostfar-reaching restructure in theBank's history. “Around 2,000 men andwomen have already left AIBsince 2008 as a result of thenon-replacement of retiringemployees and the non-renewalof contracts for temporary staff.The Bank has also recentlyannounced its intention to seeka further 2,500 job reductionsover the next two years.

⁄

IBOA slams AIB proposals onpensions, pay and benefits

Hare-brained?:AIB management proposespay freeze, withdrawal of benefits and closureof Defined Benefit pension scheme.

share-holder, on the need toengage meaningfully with theUnion on a fair deal to stay forthose staff who will be essentialto the future capacity of the Bankto meet the very dauntingchallenges that lie ahead if AIBGroup is to recover.“ “An enlightened managementwould recognise the importanceof motivating staff in a positivefashion to restore AIB to soundfinancial health in the interestsof all its stakeholders. “An enlightened majorityshareholder – the Irish State –would also see the value in suchan approach for the public good. “AIB’s Chief Executive, DavidDuffy, has committed to engagewith IBOA on these and otherissues – including the Bank'sfuture plans. IBOA is preparedto enter these talks in an effort toensure that our members’ con-cerns are fully understood. “However, we believe AIB’ssenior management must recon-sider its position – taking dueaccount of the majorcontributionits staff have already made. Sucha rethink by the Bank wouldbe in the best interests of all ofAIB’s stake-holders, includingits customers,” Larry Broderickdeclared.

‘Fair dealto stay’campaignunder wayThe Union’s Fair Deal to

Stay campaign in AIB hasbegun to gather momentum inrecent weeks – with meetingsof members and activists –either taking place or plannedin all three jurisdictions. Around 250 IBOA membersin First Trust Bank met inBelfast earlier this month –following an earlier meeting ofactivists. The mood of the meetingwas determined as speakerafter speaker condemned theproposed changes to pensions,pay and benefits announcedby the Chief Executive in June. Similar sentiments wereexpressed in further meetingsof AIB (GB) members – heldin London, Manchester andBirmingham last week. Additional meetings areplanned for locations in theRepublic of Ireland.

Fair Deal to Stay:AIB members and IBOAstaff – led by the Union’sGeneral Secretary, LarryBroderick – demonstratefor a Fair Deal to Stayat the AIB Group AGMat Bankcentre in Dublinearlier this month.

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“In case we forget, all ofthese extraordinary measureshave been necessary because ofthe reckless mismanagement ofthe Bank by its former seniorexecutives,” the IBOA leaderdeclared. “It is unacceptable that theBank should ask those staffwho will remain with the Bank– and on whose shoulders therecovery of AIB ultimatelydepends – to contemplate evenmore sacrifices at this time.”

INDICATIVE BALLOTAn indicative ballot of AIBmembers taken in the wakeof Mr. Duffy’s announcement,revealed that Union membersare virtually unanimous in theirrejection of the Bank’s cuts plan. An overwhelming majoritywould be prepared to join inlitigation to prevent the imple-mentation of the proposals whilea substantial majority have saidthey would be prepared to takeindustrial action if the Bankattempts to impose the changeswithout proper negotiation andagreement with the Union. “This result should providea wake up call for AIB’s seniormanagement and for the IrishGovernment, AIB’s predominant

For the latest newson workplacedevelopments,

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IBOA’s Ulster Bank teamtold Sir Philip of their fears forthe potential reputational dam-age to the Bank as a result of theRBS IT crisis. They explainedthat Ulster Bank staff, as well ascustomers, would need reassur-ing about the strength of RBS’scommitment to Ulster Bank andIreland in the future. The Union team also urgedthe RBS Board to review theplanned restructuring of UlsterBank in light of these develop-ments. In response, Sir Philip com-mitted RBS to continuingsupport for Ulster Bank, northand south, and agreed that RBSwould review all aspects of theincident and its impact to ensurethat Ulster Bank is not affectedagain in the future. After the Chairman's re-assurances, a separate meetingtook place with Ulster Bank’sHead of Human Resources,

Steve Daniels, and members ofits senior management team, todiscuss a range of operationalissues which had faced IBOAmembers in Ulster Bank intheir crisis. Aside from ensuring thatovertime working would operateon a voluntary basis and thatappropriate overtime allowanceswould be paid, members werealso concerned about the possi-ble adverse consequences ofabandoning sales targets andother performance criteria inorder to focus on the immediateneeds of customers. However, the Bank’s seniormanagement has assured theUnion that the suspension oftargets necessitated by the crisiswould not result in any negativeconsequences for staff. Although Ulster Bank staffhave occasionally had to dealwith customers who weredeeply distressed, the majority of

customers appear to have beenvery appreciative of the staff’scommitment and courtesy inattempting to address theirconcerns. In all of the vox pops con-ducted by the media to date,customers have drawn a cleardistinction between the responsefrom the frontline staff and thatof the Bank’s management –especially in terms of the qualityand timeliness of its communi-cations with the public.

Restructure TalksThe negotiations on the Bank’splans for a major restructuring ofthe business – which have beencontinuing since the acceptanceof the recommendations of theindependent mediator, MartinKing –were suspended once thecrisis began. When the talks resume, theUnion team will seek a completereview of the senior manage-ment’s plan in light of the needto rebuild the Bank’s reputationwith its customers and with thegeneral public in the wake of theunprecedented developments ofrecent weeks.

PatienceunderintensepressureCommitted Ulster Bankstaff win praise fromRBS chair and, moreimportantly, customers!

Sign of the Times:Ulster Bank notice advisescustomers of the nearestbranch opening late inDublin. (Photo: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland).

Chairman of RBS:Sir Philip Hampton

In a crisis meeting in Belfast with IBOA’s Ulster BankExecutive Committee, the Chairman of RBS, Sir Philip Hamp-

ton apologised to staff and customers for the major problemsfaced by Ulster Bank arising from the RBS technical problems –and fully acknowledged the tremendous support given by staffat the Bank at this crucial time.

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46

National Irish Bank shouldreview its plan to close its

retail branch network –whichwould result in a minimum of100 job losses throughout theRepublic of Ireland, accordingto IBOA. Responding to the Bank’sannouncement at the end ofJune, Union General Secretary,Larry Broderick said the newmanagement’s proposals are“totally at variance with thecommitments given by DanskeBank as late as May and sub-sequently made at the time ofthe Bank’s announcement onits restructuring in Ireland.” Describing it as the blackestday in the history of NationalIrish Bank – especially for itsstaff – the IBOA leader warnedthat the proposed closure ofthe branch network wouldhave huge implications forstaff and their families. “While the financial positionof National Irish Bank has beenseriously compromised as aresult of the mismanagementof the Bank in the past,” he said,“the decision to effectivelyscapegoat the branch networkand its staff is disingenuous. “While IBOA’s primaryconcern is for our members inNational Irish Bank, we alsohave serious questions aboutthe impact of the Bank’s pro-posed changes on customers.

SPECTRUM july 2012

Black day for staff inNational Irish Bank

“The Bank’s managementis attempting to sell this radicalsurgery as a response to chang-ing customer demand –whichnow favours a more high techbanking environment. “They tell us that at least70% of their interactions withcustomers are now conductedby phone and over the inter-net. “But that is hardly surpris-ing when you consider thatNational Irish Bank had alreadywithdrawn cash and chequehandling facilities from theirbranches – with customersredirected to An Post instead. “Recent events elsewherein the financial services sectorhave also demonstrated quiteclearly how dangerous it can

be to put all your eggs in the ITbasket. “Fortunately Ulster Bankhas a network of branches –staffed by highly dedicatedemployees who have beenable to salvage at least someelements of the Bank’s batteredreputation through personalcontact with customers.

⁄

Union appalled by plans toclose branch network


As we go to press negotiationshave just commenced betweenNational Irish Bank and theIBOA team – led by SeniorIndustrial Relations Officer,Gerry Hanna. All developments arisingfrom the talks will be coveredon the IBOA websites.

Shutting up shop? Radical surgery proposed for National Irish Bank (Photo: Photocall-Ireland).

Sweet deals Sweet deals from IBOAfrom IBOA

For the latest news on special offers

and discounts for IBOA members,

check out the Union websites:

www.iboa.ie/my/services or

www.iboa.co.uk/my/services


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Great savings and offers for IBOA members in Great Britainand Northern Ireland from Thomas Cook –

including a 6% discount on thousands of holidays.Check the Members Only Section of

the IBOA websites for more information.

“The business model beingproposed for National IrishBank by Danske is highlyquestionable since it wouldinevitably minimise the crucialrole of branch staff in buildingand maintaining relationshipswith customers.” Expressing further concernabout the Bank’s long-termintentions for many of thejobs that would remain, LarryBroderick said that on the basisof developments in NationalIrish Bank since 2008, thetrend appears to be leadingtowards a gradual wind-downof the Bank – with remainingcustomers effectively servicedfrom Northern Bank. “The plan to rebadge thetwo institutions under theDanske Bank brand appears tobe a rather expensive exerciseto disguise this fact. IBOA has sought an urgentmeeting with Danske Bank’sChief Executive, Eivind Kold-ing. The Union also intends tomeet Ulrik Nødgaard, DirectorGeneral of Finanstilsynet, theDanish Financial ServicesAuthority, since National IrishBank is legally a branch ofDanske Bank. The Union has written tothe Taoiseach, the Tanaisteand the Minister for Finance,since this development high-lights, once again the need fora comprehensive job strategyfor the financial services sectorin the wake of substantial joblosses proposed earlier thisyear in Ulster Bank, AIB andBank of Ireland.

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Danske CEO, Eivind Kolding

Northern Bank talkson restructure stallTalks on the proposed restructure of

Danske Bank's two Irish businesses –Northern Bank and National Irish Bank(NIB) – under a unified Danske Bankbrand have been put on the back burnerfor a while following the dramatic NIBannouncement about the proposed closureof its branch network. Before the announcement was made,IBOA’s Danske Group team had begun toengage with senior representatives from

both Northern Bank and National IrishBank to discuss the Danske Bank proposalfor the two banks and to highlight a rangeof key concerns raised by members aboutits possible impact. In the Northern Bank talks IBOA hadreceived assured that would continue tomanage change in line with the existingagreements with the Union which providefor job security and redeployment foraffected staff.

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Give a girl theright shoes,and she canconquer theworld.Marilyn Monroe

10% discount forIBOA memberson all products(excluding medicines and prescriptions)

AT HICKEY’S PHARMACIES IN ARKLOW,CORK, DROGHEDA, DUBLIN,* DUNDALK,GOREY, MAY NOOTH, NAVAN ANDNEWBRIDGE

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THE OLYMPIC FLAME BURNSBRIGHTLY – FOR A FEW SECONDS!

IBOA member and self-confessed couch potato, David Lemon, dreamsof Olympic glory – and then thinks better of it!

See Page 51-52

FATE WORSETHAN DEBTAround 1,820,000 people in the Re-public are left with E100 or less eachmonth after all their bills are paid.

See Page 53

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In June 1926 Norma Jeane Morten-son was born in the charity ward at

the Los Angeles County Hospital. Hermother, Gladys Monroe Baker, hadseparated from Martin Mortensonbefore she became pregnant anddivorced him after she gave birth. Gladys then changed Norma Jeane’ssurname to Baker, the name of her firsthusband. However, Gladys’ mental ill-health meant that the child was passedaround to family members and friendsand even orphanages on occasions. To avoid another orphanage stay afamily friend orchestrated a marriageproposal when Norma Jeane was sixteen.When her husband, Jim Dougherty, wassent to the Pacific with the merchant ma-rine, Norma Jeane began working on anassembly line at an aeronautical plant. In 1945 a photographer took a snap-shot of the stunning brunette at thefactory and encouraged her toapply to the Blue Book ModellingAgency. After being told that theywere looking for models withlighter hair, Norma Jeane dyed herhair golden blonde and quicklybecame one of the agency’s mostsuccessful models. A screen test and contract with20th Century Fox followed alongwith a new name: Marilyn Monroe. While her early film roles wereminor, her performances in The AsphaltJungle and All About Eve in 1950 beganto cause a stir – not least with baseballhero, Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio, whom shebegan dating at this time. When a photograph of DiMaggiovisiting Monroe at the 20th Century Fox

studio was printed in newspapersthroughout the United States, reports ofa romance with the Yankee Clipper ledto further public interest in Monroe. In 1953, she played the leading roleas a femme fatale plotting to murder her

husband (Joseph Cotten)in Niagara, a melo-dramatic film noir.As audiences became

ever more captivated bythe appeal of the breathy,blonde bombshell, hergrowing talent for lightcomedy was apparent inHow To Marry A Million-

aire, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and TheSeven-Year Itch. The latter film, or more accuratelyone particular scene in it, is reputed tohave sparked the end of her marriage toJoe DiMaggio after nine months. After tying the knot in January 1954,Monroe sued for divorce on the groundsof mental cruelty when Joe DiMaggio

objected strenuously to the famous skirt-blowing scene. Becoming increasingly concernedthat she was being typecast as a “dumbblonde,” Munroe was determined tobroaden her range. “I want to grow and

develop and play serious dramaticparts. My dramatic coach, NatashaLytess, tells everybody that I havea great soul, but so far nobody'sinterested in it,” she told the NewYork Times.

Nevertheless she began tohone her craft at the Actors’Studio in New York under thedirection of Lee Strasberg who

later praised Monroe and Marlon Brandoas the two students out of “hundreds andhundreds” that stood out above the rest. Monroe achieved critical acclaim forher role as Chérie in Bus Stop, released in1956. The film, her co-star, Don Murray,and Monroe, herself, all received GoldenGlobe nominations.

⁄

Marilyn:Behind the icon

From inauspicious beginnings,her career in Hollywoodfascinated global audiences –as well as an All-Americansports star and an allegedly“un-American” playwright.

She is reputed to have beencourted by attractive actors andpotent politicians.

Her tragic death fifty yearsago in August 1962 has notonly given rise to numeroustheories about her final hours –but also served to confirm herstatus as an internationalicon that has inspired writers,musicians and artists.

Joe DiMaggio Arthur Miller

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During the filming of Bus Stop,Monroe’sgrowing relationship with playwright,Arthur Miller, was becoming more public– at just about the time Miller was calledto appear before the House Un-AmericanActivities Committee in the US Con-gress, like many in the film industry inthe 1950s – to explain his alleged com-munist affiliations. When Miller refused the Committee’sorder to identify communists of hisacquaintance, he was charged with con-tempt of Congress – but later acquittedon appeal. At the same time, Monroerejected pleas from studio bosses toabandon Miller rather than put hercareer at risk from the negative publicity. In 1956, as the press became evermore excited about the relationshipbetween “The Egghead and The Hour-glass,” a reporter, who was pursuing thecouple by car, was involved in a crashwhich resulted in a fatality. Deeply distressed, Monroe and Millerimmediately announced their engage-ment – in part, it seems, to quell the mediahysteria around their relationship – andmarried in June 1956. Reflecting later on his attraction toMonroe, Miller wrote: “She was a whirlinglight to me then, all paradox and enticingmystery, street-tough one moment, thenlifted by a lyrical and poetic sensitivitythat few retain past early adolescence.” As the street-tough head of her ownproduction company, Marilyn MonroeProductions, she released The Prince andthe Showgirl in 1957 – starring oppositeLaurence Olivier and earning a BAFTAacting nomination in the process. In 1958, she made the Billy Wildercomedy, Some Like It Hot, with Jack

Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Although itreceived a ‘C’ (Condemned) rating fromthe National Legion of Decency (formerlythe Catholic Legion of Decency) on itsrelease in 1959, Some Like It Hotwas botha critical and popular success. The film won a slew of Oscars –including Best Director for Wilder – aswell as Golden Globes for Best MotionPicture (Musical or Comedy), Best Actress(Musical or Comedy) for Monroe and BestActor (Musical or Comedy) for Lemmon). Subsequently acclaimed as one of thebest films ever made, Some Like It Hotwas listed by the American Film Institutein 2000 as “the greatest American comedyfilm of all time.” During a short stay in Nevada in 1956,Arthur Miller wrote a short story aboutsome of the locals. By 1960 the story wasto become Monroe’s last completed film,The Misfits.Directed on location in Nevadaby John Huston with a cast includingClark Gable, Eli Wallach, MontgomeryClift and Thelma Ritter, the film wasdogged by illnesses to all of the leadingplayers apart from Wallach. AlthoughMonroe had to be hospitalised for ten days,she returned to Nevada to finish shooting. Miller’s screenplay for The Misfitswas meant to be a Valentine gift for hiswife, but by the time filming started in1960 their marriage was beyond repair.Within ten days of completing the film,

the couple had decided to separate andGable had suffered a fatal heart attack. Opening to mixed reviews, The Misfitswas not a commercial success – althoughHuston received a Directors’ Guildnomination for the film. However, even-tually the performances of Gable, Monroeand Clift came to be admired by manyfilm critics and the film has since come tobe regarded as a classic. In the ensuing months, Monroe’sgrowing dependence on alcohol and pre-scription drugs began to take an increas-ing toll on her health. With her divorcefrom Miller finalised in January 1961, shevoluntarily entered a psychiatric clinicin February. After two minor surgicalprocedures in May and June, Monroereturned to California to convalesce. In 1962, she began filming Something'sGot to Give, directed by George Cukor,and co-starring Dean Martin and CydCharisse. As health issues meant that shecould only report for work on twelve outof 35 days, Monroe was fired and hit witha $0.5m law suit from 20th Century Fox. In what were to be the final weeks ofher life, Monroe had discussions aboutfuture film projects, as well as continuingnegotiations on Something's Got to Give. However, none of these came tofruition as Marilyn Monroe died from anoverdose of barbiturates in August 1962in controversial circumstances at hernew home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.Though officially classified as “probablesuicide,” the possibility of an accidentaloverdose – or even homicide – have notbeen entirely ruled out.• In 1999, Marilyn Monroe was ratedthe sixth greatest female star of all timeby the American Film Institute.

S

Marilyn the ActivistAccording to Joan Greenson, the daughterof Monroe’s last psychiatrist, Marilyn was“passionate about equal rights, rights forblacks, rights for the poor. She identifiedstrongly with the workers.” Monroe also supported the anti-nuclearcampaign, led by the Committee for a SANENuclear Policy, which also listed MarlonBrando, Henry Fonda, Harry Belafonte andAlbert Schweitzer among its more prominentsponsors.

Marilyn and EllaJazz singer, Ella Fitzgerald, took a major step to stardom whenMonroe persuaded the owner of the Mocambo Club in Hollywoodto book the first black artist to perform at the venue with the promisethat Marilyn would come to see Ella whenever she sang there. “After that,” Fitzgerald recalled, “I never had to play a small jazzclub again. She was an unusual woman – a little ahead of hertimes. And she didn’t know it.”

Olympic torch-ure!It was a throw-away remark from my wife (“look at the gut on ye, ya big puddin’ ye”)

that prompted me to consider a lifestyle change. Perhaps a take-away remark would be amore accurate way of putting it though. Should I abandon, or at least put on hold, my careeras a couch potato, which up until now has been a spectacular success?

A position as Chairman – orrather comfy chair man – of SlobLeisure Pursuits Plc was surelyjust around the comer. Nevertheless, any number ofpeople have changed career at alate stage in their lives so therewas no logical reason why Icouldn’t do likewise. Any amount of physicalreasons why I couldn’t, mind you,but I cast aside such defeatistnotions. Perhaps with a fewsessions in the gym I could acquirea six pack stomach to replace thecurrent beer keg variety. This option was somewhatalluring; what man wouldn’t beattracted by the prospect ofbeing surrounded by leotard-clad, lithe young women work-ing out to the pounding beat ofBeyonce?

However, I figured that abalding, red-faced, pot-bellied,middle-aged tub of lard strug-gling with a chest press wouldsoon become an object ofderision. So in view of the potential forembarrassment, and of coursethe fact that the gym wouldprobably slim down my walletat a much faster rate than mybelly, I rejected this option. Swimming was a possibilitybut a natural aversion to water,finely honed during my teenageyears, and the reduced opport-unities for breathing when you’reat the knackered stage quicklyrendered this a non-starter. Several films and packets ofcrisps later I decided that joggingwas the answer; it didn’t cost any-thing, or require any particular

skills, apart from tying yourshoelaces, which I had masteredsome time ago. It also had the advantage offewer witnesses being presentwhen the unpleasant side effectsof your exertions are mostevident – when you’re puking! So, having decided on jog-ging I immediately sprang intoaction, insofar as a couch potatocan spring, and donned my tracksuit and trainers which – thoughlying idle for around twentyyears – remained stylish andfashionable. Track suits hide a multitudeof sins and unseemly bulges andas I glanced in the mirror I toldmyself I didn’t look too bad. “Are you going out in thatridiculous headband? You’ll looklike a complete prat,” remarkedmy wife, once again displayingthat trait for being oblivious toany sensitivities that may exist. I did a few stretching exer-cises, which I had learned fromwatching the Olympics on tele-vision. See, not all couch potatoactivity is wasted! Feeling suitably stretchedthe time had arrived for me toventure out on to the normallyempty streets. They weren’t empty today,of course, as all the neighbourswere out in force, mendingfences, mowing lawns, repairingcars and unintentionally offeringme encouragement. Their collective guffaws oflaughter ensured I set off at acracking pace, which I kept upfor all of a hundred yards untilI was round the comer and outof sight. I slowed to a gentle jogand after another fifty yardsdeveloped a stitch. I slowed to a crawl and afterseveral more paces I ‘hit thewall.’ This is where the bodysends a message to the brain tothe effect: “Catch yourself on.I can’t take any more and ifyou keep moving, never mindrunning, I’m just going tocollapse in a heap.” All athletes ‘hit the wall’ atsome stage in a race – thoughusually it is after 18 miles not180 yards! It is then a case of‘mind over matter,’ when theathlete summons up all his innerstrength to keep going.

⁄

IBOA memberand self-confessedcouch potato,David Lemon,dreams ofOlympicglory – andthen thinksbetter of it!


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The Physio Company is a growing chartered physiotherapy company with21 clinics already in operation across Cork, Waterford, Galway & Dublin.On production of their Union card, IBOA members are entitled to:• E10 discount on treatment charges• Preferred Appointment Times• Free 15 minute Assessment

What kept me going was halternative of limping bhome past the neighbours lthan two minutes after I had off. I decided to hang in there I walked for a bit, then steppup to an energetic stroll. My heart was pounding, arms and legs ached. I was strgling for breathand, thanks to wife, I could hardly see wher was going as the sweastreamed into my eyes. I wahaving a hard time convincinmyself that this was better thwatching Match of the Day. But I kept going in the bethat the long-term benefits of journey to health and fitnwould outweigh the short-tecost of getting there. My stieased so I increased my speed 2mph. For the next 15 minute plodded on manfully, fearthat at any moment the polwould slap a “Slow MovLoad” sign on my back or chargeme with loitering. As I neared the end of therun I made sure to keep enoughin reserve to finish with aflourish and impress all mycynical neighbours that thisvigorous effort was not takingtoo much out of me. I turned the corner into ourstreet, and sprinted, at almost3mph, over the last fifty yards.Robert, the lawnmower man

from next door, later told methat the only thing that gave thegame away was the white frothon my lips and the slabbersdangling from my chin. Once inside, I flopped on tothe sofa, gasping and groaningand staring longingly at the re-mote control. Sweat flowed fromevery pore, attracting the dog,which proceeded to lick my facewhile I lay there with my tongue

h ng out, unable to do any- about it.

Within half an hour I could again and an hour later, a painful struggle up the, I lay in a steaming hot I climbed out just as my began to shrivel up, driedlf off and clambered into

tterly exhausted. decided to waive my con-

rights, as much to protect eputation as anything else, was asleep in 9.4 seconds, within Olympic qualify-

me. slept the sleep of the

eous and dreamed of goldls, cheering crowds and, in of the righteousness, finelyted female athletes fromern Europe. I imagined warm embraces after I haded from the podium, where

just been presented with old medal for winning the metres and set a new world

record to boot. There was no explanationin the dream as to why therewere so many women at themen’s medal ceremony so I put itdown to my newly found animalmagnetism. The next day I felt fine andpromised myself another jog ina day or two, as you don’t wantto overdo these things and any-way the Olympics were on tele-vision and might provide a fewmore tips. The day after that I promisedmyself I would never run again.Every muscle in my body ached,tying my shoelaces was out ofthe question and I could onlyget about if I stumbled aroundlike a cross between John Wayneand a tortoise with a dodgy hip. Somehow I managed to getthrough the day and that night Itold my wife we’d have to findanother solution to getting rid ofmy beer gut. “You could alwaysstop drinking beer,” she said –somewhat malevolently, I thought. My heart pounded, my legsbuckled and I broke into a sweat.It felt a bit too much like joggingfor my liking. “I’ll tell you what,you can stop putting gravy onmy chips,” I suggested. Looks like I’ll have to pass onthat Olympic medal.

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Sweat flowedfrom every pore,attracting the dog,which proceeded tolick my face whileI lay there with mytongue hangingout, unable to doanything about it.


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Around 1,820,000 people in theRepublic are left with E100 or

less each month after all their bills arepaid. Half of bank account holders (50%)are unaware of what their bank chargesto operate their current account while54% of current account holders haveno idea what penalties they pay whentheir account goes overdrawn. These are some of the startlingresults from a survey published earlierthis month by the Irish League ofCredit Unions (ILCU). The ‘What's Left’ tracker surveyalso found that Irish consumers owe onaverage E1,100 on their credit card –with 25% of credit card holders relyingon their card to make ends meet eachmonth. The report also revealed that 46%of those with a credit card do not knowthe interest rate charged on their card.

MoneylendersThe ILCU survey also found 40% ofconsumers have had to borrow to paytheir household bills in the past 12months. Of this group, the largest pro-

portion rely on financial help fromfamily and friends, 30% use the creditunion, 10% rely on their bank and10% on moneylenders. Expressing alarm at the role ofmoneylenders. ILCU Chief Executive,Kieron Brennan, said: “The ILCUrecently called on the Governmentto put a legal cap on the interestrates charged by moneylenders inIreland. “No such cap currently exists butin practice, the ceiling is just below190% APR. With the level of personalindebtedness and financial exclusionin Ireland, there is a real danger ofcompounding the problem by allow-ing legal moneylenders to chargeexcessive rates.” Mortgage and rent continue to bethe most expensive bills for the major-ity of Irish adults (72%). Groceriesremain in second place (57%). Utilitybills remain in third position (54%).

Work Related ExpensesChild care comes in as the greatestwork-related expense at E520 per monthon average (for those with children), this

is followed by car fuel (E145 per month),daily lunches (E110 per month) andpublic transport (E77 per month). Commenting on the latest ‘What’sLeft’ Tracker, Kieron Brennan added:“The issue of personal debt is some-thing we are hearing more and moreabout and the issue is a growing con-cern, particularly for those who are re-lying on their credit card to make endsmeet every month. “For consumers in general, it hasnever been more important that theyreally begin to get into the practice ofmanaging their money very tightly.Keeping finances on track is a mix ofbeing diligent and shopping around forthe best value.” The credit union smartphonebudgeting app, MyBudgetBuddy, isan easy-to-use budgeting applicationthat helps you understand and manageyour income and expenses and isavailable to download from theAndroid market and iTunes. For those who do not have smartphones, the ILCU has useful tips andinformation available for download onwww.creditunion.ie/whatweoffer.

Levels of personal debt reaching alarming levels

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I've often stoodsilent at aparty for hourslistening to mymovie idolsturn into dulland littlepeople.Marilyn Monroe

IS THIS THE FIRST LESBIAN HEROINEIN AN ANIMATED FEATURE FILM?

The character of the feisty Scottish princess, Merida, in the new Pixar movie, Brave,is causing a stir among the chatterati in America. Is she really a gender mould-breaker or is she simply a refreshing change from the saccharin-sweet stereotypeof a cartoon princess?

See Page 57

GAME TIME withGeorge Hamilton

Irish soccer licks its wounds after Euro2012. Are there lessons to be learnedor is qualification the most we can everaspire to, asks George Hamilton.

See Pages 58-59

PRIZE QUIZZES

Take a break with our prize quizzes –the crossword, the picture board andsudoku. Meet the challenge and enterfor cash prizes ranging from E30 toE50.

See Page 60-61

ULTRA VIOLET with Stephen Malone

In this issue, Malone discovers a new candidate to take over as CEO in Barclays.He realises why RBS reminds him so much of a motley band of vigilantes. Hefinds out why Spain still has a soft spot for Anglo Irish Bank. And he offers aneven stiffer challenge for the team behind the Large Hadron Collider now that theHiggs boson has been identified.

See Page 62-63


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Through their long andwild career, the Rolling

Stones have made an indeliblemark on popular culture; fromepic albums to notoriouslybad behaviour. Over their 50-year history,journalists have collected atreasure trove of material, butnone more prolific than musicjournalist, Hanspeter Kuenzler. A new e-book, 50 Years:The Rolling Stones – Views fromthe Inside, Views from the Out-side, is a massive two-part col-lection of the best journalisticmaterial spanning the band’scareer. It includes feature articlesfrom Rolling Stone magazineBritain’s Daily Mail and DailyExpressnewspapers with every-one from girlfriends and wivesto the band members, them-selves. Much of the material in 50Years: The Rolling Sones haspreviously been unavailable inthe US and the e-book comesin at over 2000 pages with over150 images. Available this month, Part1 covers the first 25 years ofthe band, from their early daysin the UK, their arrival inAmerica as part of the “BritishInvasion,“ and their sell-outtours around the world. Never before has such alandmark collection been avail-able to the public and at a timewhen both music historiansand music lovers are turningtheir attention to the "world’sgreatest rock band.“ The book is being publishedby the eBook People (www.theebookpeople.com) which is anew venture from the inter-national interview syndication

company, the Interview People(www.theinterviewpeople.com). “It’s not only a journeythrough 50 years of the RollingStones,” says publisher MatthiasWürfl, “but also the historyand evolution of music, pressand western society of the lasthalf century” The author, HanspeterKuenzler, has interviewed topmusic stars including PaulMcCartney, Ringo Starr, TinaTurner, Robert Plant, MarkKnopfler, Blur, Oasis andRadiohead. The recommended retailprice for the e-book is $14.99 –but is likely to be available onAmazon for less. It is beingpublished in both epub andmobi formats. So it can bedownloaded to most populartablet devices – including iPadand Kindle.

WIN AN E-BOOKAs a special treat for Spectrumreaders, we have a copy of thee-book to give away. A down-load voucher will be sent tothe sender of the first correctanswer to the question below,drawn from our postbag onAugust 1:

Which founder member of theRolling Stones died in 1969?

Answers on a postcard, please,toSpectrum, IBOA The FinanceUnion, IBOA House, StephenStreet Upper, Dublin 8 or bye-mail to [email protected]

50 Years: The Rolling StonesViews from the Inside, Viewsfrom the Outside. (Part 1) byHanspeter Künzler is pub-lished by the eBook People(www.theebookpeople.com)

Previously unreleased interviews,articles and more published innew e-book anthology

STONE CRAZY

From Jack Flash to Jack Sparrow:Rolling Stones guitarist andvocalist, Keith Richards, performing with the Expensive Winos at theAragone Ballroom in Chicago, Illinois in 1987 (Photo: Getty Images).

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Although they are now a fewcenturies past their polit-

ical prime, princesses still seemto exert an almost inexplicablefascination in popular culture– with a global televisionaudience of 300 million saidto have watched CatherineMiddleton marry PrinceWilliam in Britain last year. Disney’s princesses havetraditionally been sweet and attimes simpering souls – lookingto a future in the embrace ofa heroic prince after rescuingher from a life of hardship/drudgery/comatose sleep. The mould began to crackwith Mulan, the Chinese warriormaiden –although the suspicionremains that Disney’s commit-ment to this project owed moreto its commercial ambitions in

Some day my princewon’t come!

China than any cultural or socialconsiderations. Disney’s animation partner,Pixar – another of the large piesin which the late Steve Jobs hada finger – has gone one better inits new offering, Brave, whichstars Merida, the flame-haired,bow-wielding teenager – whosesingular lack of interest in thethree princes seeking her handhas prompted debate in the USamong people who ponder suchthings that she may be the firstlesbian heroine in a mainstreamanimated feature! Voiced by Kelly (BoardwalkEmpire) Macdonald, Merida isfeisty and strong enough to defyKing Fergus (Billy Connolly infine form). Featuring the vocaltalents of a host of Scottish actors,Brave is highly recommended.

Merida is notthe typicalDisneyprincess– and what’smore she’sginger!

CINEMATIXKaty Perry: Part of Me

Filmmakers, Dan Cutforth andJane Lipsitz, follow Katy Perryduring her year-long CaliforniaDreams tour. During 124 sold-out showsin arenas around the world,the constant camera presencecreates both a front-row seatand a backstage pass as Perryperforms for thousands of fans,then returns to the heightenedreality of her everyday life. Interviews with family andfriends add to the picture, asPerry gives her all onstage, thenfaces pressing challenges inher personal life.

Odeon Movie Club atOld Harcourt StreetStation in Dublin

Watch classic movies on the bigscreen while you relax in bigarmchairs. During the film youcan enjoy full waiting service fortasty food or simply sip away ona your favourite drink. Tastingplates sell for E6.00 –with cock-tails from E5.00. There’s no cover charge andthe movie club fills up fast sobook early to make sure you getyour seat. You can check out theclub’s latest film listings onwww.facebook.com/TheOdeonand call 01-4782088 or [email protected] for reservations.

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Is it really better to travel inhope than to arrive? No

doubt the fans who won them-selves an award as the best atEuro 2012 were happy to arrive,experience, and then depart,all hope extinguished. Sure,isn’t it part of what we are? The end justified the means.That was the motto, the mantra,as qualification was celebrated.And we did travel in hope. Forthe first time since 2002. That brave generation, twoof whose number had smashedrecords in the course of a barrendecade – Shay Given for inter-national appearances, RobbieKeane for international goals,now had the opportunity to crowndistinguished careers perform-ing among the elite. Damien Duff would be theretoo, another veteran of the FarEast trip, and Richard Dunnewho’d travelled then but hadn’tmade it off the bench. John O’Shea, the only otherin the squad who’d already beencapped at the time of the 2002World Cup, was another whosetime had surely come. The elite, the backbone ofthe team, alongside newer talentslike McGeady and Doyle, not tomention Whelan and Andrews,who amassed experience amount-ing to 165 caps between themwhen the Poland/Ukraine Finalsrolled around.

How cruelly were the short-comings exposed. How cruel toothat Damien Duff’s 100th cap,not to mention McGeady’s andDoyle’s 50th, should have takenplace against such a backdrop ofdisappointment. Ireland’s three performancesamounted to a catalogue of failurethat is equal to the worst there’sever been in European Finals. At a month’s remove, it’s noless difficult to acknowledge thechasm that exists between whatthe Irish team was able to offerand what counted as the going rateat the Euros. Sure, Holland, too,departed without a single point.Was their failure not more abject?

To the extent that theirs wasa team blessed with outstandingtalent, the answer is undoubtedlyyes. But then their chequeredhistory suggests that for every up,there will be a down. Our pasthinted at a glorious challenge,eve though ultimate disappoint-ment would be inevitable. There is the key. This was notultimate disappointment. Thiswas disappointment from thethird minute of the opening halfof the opening game. And thethird minute of its second half.A pattern repeated with an eerieexactness when the team took tothe field for its second fixture.

⁄

DIFFERENT CLASS:Ireland’s centre back,Seán St. Ledger, attemptsto tackle Andres Iniestaof Spain in the Euro 2012group game in Gdansk,Poland last month (Photo:INPHO/Donall Farmer).

10% discount for IBOA members

on trips to major sporting eventsin Britain, Scotland and Spain –

as well as other holiday attractions in Britain.

For more information phone 00-353-1-6292000 or 00-353-21-4377501,

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GAME TIME

After Poland-Ukraine...

FreshThinkingNeeded


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My first night out after re-turning from eastern Europe wasa visit to Belfast’s Lyric Theatrefor a stunning production of OscarWilde’s comedy, The Importanceof Being Earnest.And as I laughedat the play’s memorable punch-line, I couldn’t help thinking ofPoznanand Gdansk. To lose oneearly goal may be unlucky, tolose two looks like carelessness.But three and four? I’m left wondering if the aimwas in fact the qualification.That simply getting there was asfar as it was going to go. It seemsthat the limit of the side’sambition – as dictated by thetactics imposed –was to be con-

tainment, and that Plan B con-sisted of a bizarre exercise indice throwing rather than anyradical refreshment of the play-ing personnel. In other words,those in charge figured that dam-age limitation was as good as it got. Where was the fire breathedby Charlton’s teams? Where wasthe fighting spirit McCarthyinstilled after the Keane fiasco inSaipan? Ireland went out of thatWorld Cup on penalties havingscored the only goal concededby the beaten finalists Germanyon their way to the decider. But even more depressingthan the defeats in Euro 2012is the fact that nothing so far

suggests a major rethink is inthe offing. There’s one friendlybefore the World Cup campaignbegins, away to Serbia in mid-August. Then it gets seriousin Kazakhstan. Germany andSweden are in the group as well. It’s easy to take comfort in thefact that both Euro finalists – asin 1988 – came from Ireland’sgroup. It was a tough one, andwe’ve got to acknowledge that. But in 1988, Ireland drew withthe Soviet Union, the beatenfinalists, and only lost to theDutch, the eventual winners,when they got a lucky late goal. In 2012, however, Irelandwas a long, long way back whenthe chequered flag was waved. But is the summer a totallylost cause? The Olympics offeran opportunity of redemption. For spirit lifting, we need lookno further than Katie Taylor.Patiently, painstakingly, she haspursued excellence since shewas a teenager, collecting theEuropean and World medals ourfootballers must dream of, overa dozen golds. Now, she’s on thebrink of wrapping up the full set,an Irish woman who almost byher own efforts has blasted hersport on to the Olympic schedule. We yearned for so muchfrom Poland. We left frustrated,but unbowed. Now London’scalling. This may yet be a goldensummer.

S

10% discount for IBOA memberson travel packages to top soccer matches

in Britain, Scotland and Spain.

For booking call 1850- 206080 from the Republicor 00-353-61-228022 from Northern Ireland.

www.mcinerneysports.com

McInerney SportsTravel Ltd.

WITH GEORGE HAMILTON

DIFFERENT CLASS:Ireland’s Katie Taylor (red)on her way to victoryagainst Sofya Ochigavaof Russia in the 60kglightweight final at theWorld Women’s BoxingChampionships held inthe Olympic Stadium inQinhuangdao, China inMay (Photo: INPHO/ChinaFotoPress).

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PRIZE CROSSWORD

PREVIOUS SOLUTION

Across: 1. Jerusalem; 6. Bible; 9. Navel; 10. Velodrome; 11. Heartbreak; 12.Snag; 14. Quintet; 15. Disdain; 17. Engross; 19. Academy; 20. Ulna; 22. Break-aways; 25. Overboard; 26. India; 27. Sleet; 28. Menagerie.Down: 1. Jonah; 2. Revealing; 3. Salutation; 4. Leveret; 5. Mallard; 6. Bide; 7.Brown; 8. Emergency; 13. Escalating; 14. Querulous; 16. Alexander; 18. Sarcasm;19. Abandon; 21. Niece; 23. Snare; 24. Abet.

The winning entry for the prize crossword competition in the last issue wassubmitted by Michael Power of Waterford City.

Name............................................................ Union No ..............

Address ...........................................................................................

........................................................................................................

E-mail Address ................................................................................

Employer................................... Branch/Dept.............................

A prize of E50 will be given to the sender of the first correctentry drawn from our post bag on September 1, 2012.Entries should be sent to Crossword, Spectrum, IBOA – TheFinance Union, IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin8. A photocopy of the grid is acceptable if you prefer notto cut up the magazine.

Across:1. City in South-East

Asia (9)6. Hurl (5)9. Spanish friend (5)10. Universal language (9)11. Practising (10)12. Mark of old wound (4)14. Devotee (7)15. Set in motion (5,2)17. Coffee maker (7)19. Long journey (7)20. Ballet dress (4)22. Lacking decorum (10)25. Evaluation (9)26. Fear (5)27. Surpass (5)28. Breathed in (9)

Down:1. Ringo (5)2. One who lives near (9)3. Terminal global conflagration (10)4. Supervise (7)5. Uses up (7)6. Kind (4)7. Style of Greek architecture (5)8. Academic subject (9)13. One caring for infant

(10)14. Judge (9)16. Will (9)18. Loss of memory (7)19. Cover partly º(7)21. Subject (5)23. Finished (5)24. Post (4)

A prize of E50 will be awarded to the first entrydrawn from our post bag after the closing date.

10% discount on any mobile phone* or mobile accessoryfor IBOA members in the Republic of Ireland.

*except the Apple i-Phone

WINE50


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SUDOKU

PICTURE BOARD

2 3 4

9 3

5 8 4

6 3 9 4

8 5 6

8 1 4 3

3 9

4 1 6

6 4 5

7

Use the first letter of the surnames of each of the celebrities pictured to spell out the name of an internationalpop star. Answers on a post card, please, with your name, address and e-mail address and IBOA membershipnumber to Picture Board, Spectrum, IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8. A prize of E30 will be awardedto the sender of the first correct entry drawn from our post bag on September 1, 2012. The winner of the lastPicture Board quiz was Noel Cassidy of Salthill, Co. Galway. The answer was Madonna

WINE30

warded to the sender of the firstcorrect entry drawn from our post bag on September1, 2012. All entries should be sent to Sudoku, Spectrum,IBOA – The Finance Union, IBOA House, Stephen StreetUpper, Dublin 8. You can submit your entry on a photo - copy of the grid – if you would prefer not to cut up themagazine. The winning entry for the Sudoku Challengein the last issue was submitted by Paul Gibson ofBanbridge, Co. Down.

Name....................................................... Union No: ...................................

Address .........................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

E-mail Address ..............................................................................................

Employer.................................. Branch/Dept...............................................

WINE30

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1

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ULTRA VIOLET

To add colour to the story,Lin told journalists that theUS bank had been in operationfor 85 years under Jewishman agement, whose businessskills are stereotypically highlyregarded by many Chinese. News of the acquisition ledto a major political appointmentin his local area in recognitionof his “legendary” businessexpertise – which, of course, isprecisely what it proved to be –in the sense that it was entirelymythical. When Chinese journalistschecked into the story, theyfound that not only did he notbuy Atlantic Bank in Delaware –but that there was no AtlanticBank in Delaware. The 41-year-old is nowunder arrest for an unrelatedfraud and has been forced togive up his municipal-levelappointment to the ChinesePeople’s Political ConsultativeConference, the government’stop advisory body. When his banking fantasywas exposed, Lin said he had‘exaggerated’ in order to raise hissocial status and to secure futureopportunities in banking. With an approach like thathe could well have a future asthe Chief Executive of a majorfinancial institution in the West.Has anyone alerted MarcusAgius?

Big deal is no big deal!Did you hear the one about the Chinese rice trader who claimed to have bought a

US bank for a bargain price? Lin Chunping became a celebrity in China when it was reported in January that hehad acquired the Atlantic Bankin Delaware for $60m after spending two years innegotiations to buy the bank which had filed for bankruptcy in 2008 as the financialcrisis began to bite.

Head Hunter:Marcus Agius ofBarclays

It is heartening to see thatthe new Spanish Govern-

ment does not bear grudges. Some might considerthat a firm of consultantswhich described AngloIrish Bank as a ‘model’ justtwo years before it collapsed– with devastating resultsfor both the Irish and Euro-pean banking systems –would be so reputationallydamaged that it might neversecure another contract.But not the magnanimousSpanish! The Spanish EconomicMinistry was clearly willingto forgive and forget thisunfortunate mistake whenit decided to appoint UScompany, Oliver Wyman,and Roland Berger StrategyConsultants from Germanyto audit Spain’s banks. The two consultancieswere selected to provide anindependent assessment ofSpain’s banking sector aspart of the ministry’s attemptto boost investor confidence

by enhancing transparencyand easing doubts about thevalue of bank shares inSpain. BlackRock – which hadcarried out the exhaustivestress tests of the Irish bank-ing system in 2011 – wasapparently passed over forthe Spanish contract. However, it remains tobe seen if investors willshare the Spanish Govern-ment’s respect for OliverWyman’s views after itsuntimely endorsement ofone of the most toxic banksin history. Oliver Wyman’s lack oftransparency in the audit-ing of its own accounts, hasalso been flagged by rivalconsultancy, Deloitte’s. Roland Berger, on theother hand, is reported tobe in preliminary talks withthe German stock exchange,Deutsche Börse, about set-ting up a new Europeanratings agency to be basedin Frankfurt.


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with STEPHEN MALONE

No longer an Anglophile?:Oliver Wyman’s Chief Executive,

John Drzik

‘Unlucky’ consultants givensecond chance in Spain

Hadron Colliderteam rejectsRBS request?There is no truth in the rumourthat, following the discovery of theelusive Higgs boson – commonlyknown as the ‘God particle,’ the teambehind the Large Hadron Colliderat CERN in Switzerlandhas rejecteda request to take on a truly impossiblechallenge – to find the cause of the‘glitch’ in the RBS computer – com-monly known as the ‘Sod particle’!

Spanish Government appointsone-time backers of Anglo Irishto audit its banking system

spectrum july 2012

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