RBS 2009 Annual Report Download - page 35

33RBS Group Annual Report and Accounts 2009
Divisional review
Ulster Bank
Did you know?
1billion
Our island of Ireland SME
Support Fund for SME businesses
was worth 1 billion
through a step by step budgeting process. Where a customer’s
income falls short of their outgoings, we seek to find a solution such
as extending the term of the loan or temporarily reducing payments.
Since we introduced Flex in July 2009, we have assessed around
5,700 customer cases. In 87% of these cases, we approved new
Flex arrangements, while for some customers no new arrangements
were needed.
We also launched our MoneySense for Adults programme during the
year, which offers free and balanced information to customers to help
them better understand and manage their money. The MoneySense
programme is delivered online, in print and face-to-face in all Ulster Bank
branches across the island of Ireland. Specially trained and dedicated
MoneySense Officers are available in all of our branches to provide
practical one-to-one support to both customers and non-customers who
want help with budgeting and money management. The programme built
on our successful MoneySense for Schools programme, which we rolled
out to 19 schools during the year.
We have also extended dedicated support to our small and medium-
sized enterprise (SME) customers with the launch of a 1 billion
all-Ireland SME fund that provides businesses with access to working
capital and development funding.
In Northern Ireland, under the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG)
scheme, the government guarantees 75% of the value of a small firm’s
loan up to the value of £1 million. Ulster Bank provided some 75% of
the total value of EFG loans drawn down in Northern Ireland in 2009.
We understand that supporting businesses means more than just
providing financial support. That is why we facilitate Small Business
Can.com, our social network for small businesses. Launched in May
2009, this is an interactive online resource designed to help the SME
community across the island of Ireland successfully navigate through
the economic downturn. Small Business Can.com was established by
entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and aims to help business people
grow their enterprises by sharing knowledge, experience and contact
networks. Open to all businesses free of charge, the site attracted
66,000 hits during the year.
The PricewaterhouseCoopers Business Banking Tracker Survey,
published in November 2009, provides an indication of our commitment
to our customers. It shows that, compared with other leading banks, we
received higher ratings from our customers across the island of Ireland
in the areas of customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy. All of this
was achieved against a tough trading background and gives us a strong
platform to build on in 2010.
We focussed on increasing customer deposits and our share of new
corporate deposits increased to 18% in Northern Ireland and 22% in
the Republic of Ireland. In the retail market, we introduced a range of
initiatives including Bonus Saver, eSavings Plus, Pathway and a number
of fixed term and fixed rate products which saw retail customer deposits
increase by almost £1 billion during the year.
While the global economy is showing some signs of recovery, conditions
in Ireland remain challenging. However the early actions we have taken
have positioned us well to operate through these difficult economic
conditions and to take maximum advantage of the upturn as it emerges.
Throughout, we will maintain our commitment to engage with our people
and serve the needs of our customers.