Board of directors and secretary
1
Ulster Bank Limited Annual Report and Accounts 2017
Chairman
Howard Davies
Nominations (Chairman)
Executive directors
Ross McEwan, Chief Executive Officer
Executive (Chairman)
Ewen Stevenson, Chief Finance Officer
Executive
Independent non-executive directors
Frank Dangeard
Risk, Technology
Alison Davis
Technology (Chairman), Remuneration, Sustainable Banking
Morten Friis
Audit, Risk
Robert Gillespie
Remuneration (Chairman), Nominations, Sustainable Banking
Penny Hughes
Sustainable Banking (Chairman), Nominations, Risk
Yasmin Jetha
Sustainable Banking, Technology
Brendan Nelson
Audit (Chairman), Nominations, Risk
Baroness Noakes
Risk (Chairman), Audit, Nominations
Mike Rogers
Remuneration, Sustainable Banking
Mark Seligman
Senior Independent Director, Nominations, Remuneration
Lena Wilson
Chief Governance Officer and Board Counsel
Aileen Taylor (Company Secretary)
Auditors
Ernst & Young
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor
Ernst & Young Building
Harcourt Centre
Harcourt Street
Dublin 2 D02 YA40
Registered office
11-16 Donegall Square East
Belfast BT1 5UB
Head office
11-16 Donegall Square East
Belfast BT1 5UB
Ulster Bank Limited
Registered in Northern Ireland No. R0000733
Audit member of the Group Audit Committee
Executive member of the Executive Committee
Nominations member of the Group Nominations and Governance Committee
Remuneration member of the Group Performance and Remuneration Committee
Risk member of the Board Risk Committee
Sustainable Banking member of the Sustainable Banking Committee
Technology member of the Technology and Innovation Committee
Strategic report
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Ulster Bank Limited Annual Report and Accounts 2017
Presentation of information
In the report and accounts, and unless specified otherwise, the
term ‘the Bank’ or ‘UBL’ means Ulster Bank Limited, ‘NatWest’
means National Westminster Bank Plc, ‘NatWest Holdings’
means NatWest Holdings Limited, ‘RBS plc’ means The Royal
Bank of Scotland plc, ‘RBSG’ or ‘the ultimate holding company’
means The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc and ‘the Group’
or ‘RBS Group’ means the ultimate holding company and its
subsidiaries.
The directors of the Bank present their strategic and directors’
reports, together with audited financial statements of the Bank
for the financial year ended 31 December 2017. The financial
statements are prepared in accordance with International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as adopted by the
European Union (EU).
Principal activities
The Bank operating under the Ulster Bank brand provides a
comprehensive range of financial services through its Personal
& Business Banking (PBB) and Commercial & Private Banking
(CPB) divisions. PBB serves individuals and mass affluent
customers together with small businesses through the Bank’s
network of branches and direct channels, including the
internet, mobile and telephony. CPB provides services to
corporate and commercial customers.
Business review
The Bank’s core ambition is to be number one for customer
service, trust and advocacy in its market by 2020.
On 1 January 2017, as part of the response of RBS Group to
ring fencing legislation and to deliver a simplified group
structure, the Bank sold its investment in Ulster Bank (Ireland)
Holdings Unlimited Company to NatWest Holdings Limited, a
fellow subsidiary of RBSG. As a result the Bank no longer
consolidates the Republic of Ireland operations of the RBS
Group operating under the Ulster Bank brand. These financial
statements present the results and financial position of Ulster
Bank Limited as a standalone company.
In 2017 through the ‘Help for What Matters’ initiative the Bank
continued to play an active and leading role in supporting
personal and business customers across Northern Ireland in
achieving their ambitions. In PBB the ‘Help for the movers’
campaign contributed to new mortgage lending of £183 million,
representing a 14.4% increase year on year. In CPB the use of
business reviews to identify customer needs and increased
contact strategy contributed to a 15% increase in new lending
year on year.
During the year the Bank launched market leading online
savings offers and enhanced rates on branch and private
deposit accounts, available to existing and new customers,
that attracted over £2 billion of additional deposits which are
being utilised to support RBS Group lending across the UK.
In 2017 the Bank announced further changes to the way that it
interacts with its customers that were reflective of the changing
trends in customer behaviours. The announced closure of 20
branches in Northern Ireland was offset by a four-fold increase
in the number of Community Bankers. The Community
Bankers engage with and support customers to understand the
different options that are available to help them to meet their
banking needs, including digital channels and via the Post
Office. A relaunched Mobile Bank or “bank on wheels”, that is
Wi-Fi enabled and houses enhanced safety features for a
more secure banking service, will regularly serve 17
communities across Northern Ireland.
The Bank also continued to invest significantly in its digital
proposition, in particular enhancing and optimising its mobile
capabilities. A number of new features were introduced to the
app in 2017, including the ability to make international
payments and manage multiple business accounts through
one login. Customers can now, in addition to using their debit
card, make purchases using their credit card with Apple Pay
and Android Pay enabled devices. Customers with the iPhone
X are able to log into the app using the Face-ID function and
all customers can utilise the ‘Message us’ function to chat to
an adviser on a 24/7 basis.
During 2017 the Bank registered a further 17,000 customers
for mobile banking and the “Get Cash” feature that enables
customers to withdraw cash from any Ulster Bank, NatWest,
Tesco or Easycash ATM without the use of their bank card
was used over 113,000 times.
The Bank maintained its support for businesses in Northern
Ireland during 2017 through continued support of the
Entrepreneurial Spark initiative along with the launch of the
Boost programme. The Entrepreneurial Spark hub provides
facilities to 80 entrepreneurs enabling them to work in a
collaborative environment, providing business enablement and
networking opportunities and support via a pool of specialised
mentors. Figures released in early 2017 reflected that the
businesses in the hub in Belfast had generated 231 jobs, £5.3
million of investment and a collective turnover of £12 million.
The Bank launched the Boost program in June 2017 and
supported events throughout Northern Ireland, giving local
business leaders and entrepreneurs the opportunity to hear
from expert speakers and gain insights and tips into relevant
and topical issues, including cyber security.
