Senior executives from the five retail banks along with Banking and Payments Federation Ireland attended a CEO roundtable meeting with the Central Bank yesterday, following on from an initial meeting in May.
The Central Bank had warned in May that the banks here need to do more work in a number of areas, including planning and communication, in order to ensure the exits of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland are smooth.
Today's meeting provided an update on the work being undertaken by the sector to manage the migration of personal and business bank accounts ahead of the departure of the two banks.
Up to a million accounts will either have to be closed or moved to a new financial institution when Ulster Bank and KBC leave the country.
Concern has been growing that the banks may not have been fully prepared for the big switch, amid complaints from the public of difficulties in getting appointments and long delays on customer service lines.
Brian Hayes, the chief executive of BPFI, said today's meeting focused on how the banking industry can support customers through the industry action plan.
It looked at the range of key initiatives underway as the intensive work of transferring hundreds of thousands of customer accounts, and associated payment arrangements continues.
"This work is focusing on collaborative planning, customer supports, customer communication, and stakeholder engagement," Mr Hayes said.
Further work includes better planning to provide strategic direction and oversight of operational capacity, so that expected surges in customer activity and emerging issues can be dealt with.
Targeted interaction for those customers in need of additional support is also being formulated, while the rollout of a public awareness and information campaign will launch in July.
This is aimed at providing comprehensive advice, support and practical tools to customers who need to move their banking services.
Work is also continuing on stakeholder engagement, including through a dedicated Customer Transition Working Group established under the auspices of the BPFI, with other sectors and their representatives.
These include Direct Debit Originators, relevant Government departments and organisations representing customers in vulnerable circumstances, amongst others.
The BPFI said it remains committed to continuing this collaborative approach to engagement.
"This extensive migration of bank accounts is a significant task that will take time and will no doubt bring challenges. However, by continuing to work together as an industry, alongside other sectors, key stakeholders and the Central Bank of Ireland, we can support customers in as seamless a manner as possible," Brian Hayes said.
The Central Bank's Director General, Financial Conduct, Dervill Rowland, said the bank has made clear its view that the large scale migration of customer bank accounts must happen in line with customer needs and expectations.
"This requires a strong customer-focused approach, where individual customer experience and service levels are of a standard that customers rightfully expect and are entitled to," Ms Rowland said.
She said this is a real opportunity for the retail banking sector to deliver on the public commitments made in recent years in relation to cultural change and improving confidence in the banking sector.
"The key to its success will be a strong customer-focused approach, with appropriate leadership and oversight by boards and senior management, coupled with effective planning at an individual institution and sector-wide level," the regulator said.
The commitments made by the sector reflected in today's statement by the BPFI are welcome in this respect, she said.
"We will continue to engage proactively with the sector as these plans are implemented and we are prepared to intervene further if the exercise does not proceed in line with our expectations," she added.
