Staff at ICC Bank have voted to accept terms on which they will receive a 14.9 per cent shareholding in the bank. Some 92 per cent of the 358 workforce who were balloted voted to accept the final offer from the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, this week. The shareholdings are estimated to be worth more than £100,000 each. Mr McCreevy welcomed the overwhelming vote in favour of the Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP). He also welcomed the staff's endorsement of the transformation and flexibility agreement.
The Minister said it represented a major opportunity for any new purchaser to develop the business of ICC with the full support of the staff.
The Government plans to sell off the bank later this year.
MSF, which represents ICC staff, said the acceptance by its members of the 14.9 per cent shareholding and the new agreement sent a clear message to potential purchasers. Regional organiser Mr Brian Gallagher said it showed potential bidders that ICC had a highly motivated workforce.
Following acceptance of the ESOP proposals, the Minister can now advertise the sale of the State-owned bank. The formal advertisement inviting expressions of interest from qualifying applicants in respect of the purchase of the entire shareholding of the ICC will be published next Monday. The sale is expected to be completed later this year.
Mr Gallagher said ICC staff will be putting forward their views to the Minister on the tenders submitted by potential purchasers for the bank. "They will have an equal role through the partnership committee, along with the bank's management and the Department of Finance's officials, in relation to the sale process."
The ESOP agreement involves the acquisition of a 5 per cent shareholding through a series of changes in work practices and improvements in productivity. The remaining 9.9 per cent will be purchased through a combination of a 6.5 per cent pension contribution, valued at £8.3 million, and a loan for the balance, which the staff will raise themselves. The price of this portion will vary between £20 million and £23.5 million and will be finalised by the time the bank is sold. The Minister for Finance has also agreed to make it a requirement that the purchaser give an undertaking to maintain staff's existing terms and conditions, including pensions. There is also an undertaking that there will be no compulsory redundancies.
There is expected to be a strong level of interest in ICC Bank both from Irish and foreign institutions. In the Republic, Bank of Ireland and Irish Intercontinental Bank are likely to be among the front-runners.
