The chief executive of Ulster Bank has said that over 50% of the bank's customers have either closed or wound down very considerably the activity on their accounts, ahead of its exit from the country.
Jane Howard was speaking at an Oireachtas committee hearing which also heard from the also departing KBC Bank that just 10% of its current accounts have been closed since May.
But the lender, which is in the process of winding down its operations in Ireland, said this is above its projections.
In an opening statement to members of the Oireachtas Committee on Finance KBC Bank Ireland's CEO said its first wave of closures of inactive current accounts will begin in December.
It stated that the closure process will continue in four-week cycles until August of next year.
The lender said that while it had previously told the committee in May that it estimated that some 52,000 of its 130,000 current account holders may need to open a new account or move to a new provider, today it has revised that estimate down by 25% to 39,000.
"There has been a 110% increase in current accounts with a zero balance, with an overall reduction of 26% in current account balances since May," KBC Bank Ireland CEO Frank Jansen said.
"The number of direct debits is reducing at a rate of 3,000 per week. Another key indicator of activity is the level of social welfare payments made into current accounts, this has decreased by 32% from May to September, with just 8,500 accounts remaining in receipt of social welfare payments.
The CEO also said that the bank has been informed that the Minister for Finance has instructed that the Ministerial order confirming his approval of the transfer of loan assets and deposits to Bank of Ireland be drafted.
"Subject to the completion of the remaining procedural steps, the transfer is anticipated to take place in early 2023," he said.
Mr Jansen also stated that it has been and remains a key priority for KBC to support customers at "every turn" of the process and to communicate effectively with them.
He said significant resources have been dedicated to ensuring the process of requiring customers to close current accounts is as smooth as possible.
The volume of staff dedicated to serving customers has been increased by 60% in the contact centre and 25% in the operations centres, he adds.
The bank's hubs or branches will remain open to support customers with switching or closing until after customers have transferred to Bank of Ireland, he also said.
In relation to the number of staff who will transfer to Bank of Ireland under TUPE legislation, Mr Jansen said it is too early to state.
Meanwhile, Ulster Bank told the committee that 71% of personal current account customers who received their first formal notification to close their accounts in April and May have either closed or materially wound down the level of activity in their current account or left it inactive.
The bank, which is also winding down its Irish operations, added that this figure is increasing every day.
"We have contacted most of the remaining of these customers as a final reminder and most are reporting that they have either opened a new account elsewhere and are in the process of moving their payments to their new account," said Ulster Bank CEO Jane Howard.
The bank also said it believes it has taken all reasonable steps to support customers to move their accounts to other institutions since it began asking them to do so in April.
In its opening statement to the committee, the bank said that to the best of its knowledge it also believes that the other financial institutions have taken all appropriate steps to encourage customers to do the same.
Ulster Bank recently put back the start of the process of freezing the accounts of those who first received the six months' notice in April until November 11, in order to allow for the payments of the special one-off budget payments by the Government.
Today the committee heard that of the 17,000 accounts in that cohort, 8,500 are still open.
The bank said it estimates that on that date around 1,000 inactive accounts will be frozen.
The bank said that in line with its commitment, it is going to take a considered and careful approach to account closures.
"If a customer needs more support, which may or may not mean time we can provide that– they just need to let us know what they need," said Ms Howard.
"If a customer is still reliant on their account after their six months’ notice is over, we will try to make contact with them again to ensure they have all they require to complete their move to a new bank / service provider."
"We will not freeze or close their accounts at this time but it’s essential that the customer continues the process of moving to another service provider."
The bank said if it freezes an account that a customer is still reliant on, it can temporarily reverse the freezing for a short time once the customer contacts it.
"If a customer is no longer reliant on their account but it is still open, with no activity or a very low level of activity, they can expect their account to be frozen and closed on or after the end of their six-month notice period," Ms Howard added.
Sinn Fein's finance spokesman, Pearse Doherty, questioned the progress made by the bank in getting customers to switch and close accounts and he also queried its definition of an inactive account.
He said any transaction on an account could prove to be important for the customer concerned.
