Ireland “probably” needs more than two banks - Boucher

Ireland "probably" needs more than two banks in the economy, Bank of Ireland chief executive Richie Boucher said this morning.

Speaking to delegates at IBEC’s CEO conference in The Convention Centre, Mr Boucher said that while there may be an argument for having more banks open for business now, “in the early 2000s we had too many banks”.

Referring to ongong cost cutting programmes at the bank, Mr Boucher noted that investments are still being made, and that the bank couldn’t cut its “way to glory”.

With respect to funding, Mr Boucher said that is not an issue for the bank, and that “asset quality is not a drag”.

Meanwhile, responding to a live comment blog on www.guardian.com this morning, Ross McEwan, newly appointed chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) which operates Ulster Bank in Ireland, said that issues with its technology which led to difficulties for its customers, particularly in Ireland, were "totally unacceptable".

“We are spending in excess of £450 million to ensure our core banking systems are fit for purpose and I will spend as much as I need to to keep them up for our customers.”

On the issue of whether or not the bank is lending, Mr McEwan said, “prior to the financial crisis we lent to many businesses that in hindsight we should never have lent to. We’ve spent years recovering from this position and are very much open for business with plenty of money to lend. But this time let’s make it safe for everybody.”