spectrum december 2011

DECEMBER 2011

COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON

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2 SPECTRUM december 2011

SHORT CUTS NEWS REVIEW SPECIAL FOCUS IBOA

shortsdirect

Spectrum is published by IBOA – The Finance Union,IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8and 29, Malone Road, Belfast. BT9 6RU.Telephone: 00353-1-4755908 and

[email protected] www.iboa.ie www.iboa.org.uk

General Secretary: Larry BroderickHonorary Secretary: Tommy Kennedy

Communications Manager: Séamas Sheils

Advertising enquiries to Anna O’Dohertyor Louise O’Donnell in IBOA House.

Spectrum is printed on recycled paper and wrappedfor posting in oxy-degradable poly thene at W & G Baird,Antrim, Northern Ireland.

JENNINGS ATG20Philip Jennings, General Secre-tary, UNI Global Union metPresident Sarkozyas part of theLabour 20 (L20) Summit whichran alongside the G20 LeadersSummit in Cannes.

See Page 4

TOO BIG TO FAILThe Basel Committee onBanking Supervision recentlyreleased a list of the world’s29 systemically importantbanks – from the US, Europeand Asia.

See Page 5

NEWS REVIEW

• Growth is the Key - ICTU• Gender bias in global

workplace• Rough trade for rogue

traders

See Pages 10-17

VIRGIN TAKESON THE ROCK

The nationalised Northern Rockis to be sold to Virgin Money for£747m, the British Governmenthas decided.

See Page 7

EU WANTS MOREWOMEN ONBOARDNew proposals published by theEU Commission are seeking morewomen directors on bank boards.

See Page 8

SPECIAL FOCUS• Anglo Rescue: Saving Europe’s Bacon• Softening the Blow for

Whistleblowers• Reforming banking culture• Stress at Work• Safety Reps cost effective

See Pages 18-27

UK BANKS FACESEXISM CHARGEAccording to research manyBritish banks still hold deeplysexist attitudes towards femalecustomers.

See Page 9

IBOA NEWS• Handlling Change: history

of IBOA out soon• New courses in train• Kerry Christie tribute

fundraiser• Youth Committee• Steve Tweed to leave IBOA

See Pages 28-37

december 2011 SPECTRUM 3

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WORK AGENDA LIFE & STYLE ARTS & LEISURENEWS

WORK AGENDA• Future uncertain for Irish

banking• New relationship at NIB• Intense talks at Northern• No talks yet at AIB• Ulster developments• Stalemate at BOI

See Pages 38-45

LIFE & STYLE• Flourishing with Maureen

Gaffney• Why not toys for tots?• Upcoming sports and social events• Learning to get your message across

See Pages 46-53

ARTS & LEISURE• Banking on art• Close to the Heart• Sports Quiz• Crossword,• Sudoku and Picture Board• UltraViolet

See Pages 54-63

Cover Picture: Irish international rugby star, Gordon D’Arcy, pictured with Libby (5) and Rory Gorman (9) fromBlackrock after he turned on the Christmas lights in Dublin’s Henry Street recently. Gordon’s father, John has beena long-standing member of IBOA The Finance Union, as a former employee of Bank of Ireland in Wexford(Photo:Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland).

Bankcentre’s latestAIB’s new Chief Executive, David Duffy.

AIB’s new Group Chief Exec-utive Officer is David Duffy –the former CEO of StandardBank International. Aged 50, Mr. Duffy haspreviously worked for Gold-man Sachs and the INGGroup. His appointment followsa year-long search for asuccessor to the Bank’sformer Managing Director,Colm Doherty. The search was led bythe Bank’s interim ExecutiveChairman, David Hodgkinson,who is likely to remain with

the Bank as its non-executiveChairman. The search has been thesubject of much mediaspeculation over the issue ofcompliance with the Govern-ment’s E500,000 annualsalary cap. Mr. Duffy faces a verychallenging task in co-ordi-nating the recovery of AIB. IBOA General Secretary,Larry Broderick, has welcomedthe appointment of DavidDuffy as the final piece in theexecutive jigsaw in AlliedIrish Bank Group.

“Staff in AIB have beentold repeatedly for over 20months that AIB will be scaleddown and since April theyhave had the axe of over2,000 redundancies hover-ing over them – but with noindication of where, whenand how deeply it might fall. “I hope that with thenew executive leadership inAIB will now work with IBOAto rebuild staff morale whichwill be vital to restoring AIBto full health so that it canonce again contribute to theeconomic recovery.

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Philip Jennings, General Secretary, UNIGlobal Union met President Sarkozy atthe Elysée Palace in Paris recently aspart of the Labour 20 (L20) Summitwhich ran alongside the G20 LeadersSummit in Cannes. Jennings and other leading trade unionleaders brought a message to Sarkozy, callingon the G20 leaders not to miss this secondchance to get it right. They urged the G20 to tackle the crisis con-structively by putting employment at the heartof the recovery and a new deal on the table forthe people. After the financial crisis broke in 2008 therewas a flurry of co-ordinated activity but sincethen the G20 has lost its way and has so farbeen unable to provide the leadership requiredor stand up to big business. If the G20 wants to take this secondchance, UNI Global Union has demanded theytake the following steps:• Stop the “business and bonus” as usual

mentality among finance sector bosses.• Push for businesses to start re-investing and

focusing on job creation.• Ensure that the widening gap between the

poor and the rich is redressed.• Close tax havens which fuel inequalities.• Introduce a financial transactions tax.• Develop global solidarity and fair working

conditions across markets.

“We pressed President Sarkozy, as the G20President, for a co-ordinated plan which wouldcut youth unemployment worldwide, andenhance social protection, workers’ rights andstronger G20 policies for social cohesion” saidJennings. “The financial crisis has revealed that thesocial order created in the post-war social con-tract has been systematically torn to pieces bythe business and political elites and their think-tank cohorts,” said Jennings. “The wave of protests which are growingall over the world are an authentic voice ofordinary people who feel they have beendisenfranchised from society and have no hopefor tomorrow. This growing unrest needs to beanswered in a positive manner,” he said.

Jennings takescase to G20

Above: Oxfam stages a demonstration at the G20 summit inCannes (Photo: Delphine Bedel/Oxfam International). Right: UNIGlobal Union Federation General Secretary, Philip Jennings (Photo:Remy Steinegger).

The Officers, ExecutiveCommittee and staff ofIBOA The Finance Unionwish all our members andSpectrum readers the com-pliments of the season. The holiday break offers abrief respite from the unrelent-ing pressure many membersfeel at this time – and whichthe Union is fighting to resist. While 2011 has proven tobe a very difficult year formany staff in the financialservices in the wake of theongoing crisis in banking andin the economy generally,2012 promises to be equallychallenging. However, with the con-tinued and committed sup-port of its members, IBOA ispledged to strive to protectthe interests of workers in thefinancial services sector bypromoting the recovery ofIrish banking in a measuredand structured fashion –avoiding short-term expedi-ency and with job retentionas an essential element. We wish you a joyfulChristmas and a brighter 2012.

Best wishesfrom IBOA

Union to makedonations tocharity IBOA has decided to make anumber of charitable donationsthis year – including grantsto the Irish Cancer Society andto Marie Curie Cancer Careinstead of sending seasonalgreetings cards by post. However, the Union is tosend electronic greetings bye-mail.


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NBNK aims tomake mark inBritish bankingNBNK Investments plc isnow actively seeking toestablish a presence inBritish retail banking. The investment vehiclerecently made a £1.5bn bidfor the 632 branches whichLloyd’s is required to sell by theEU Commission in return forthe extensive State supportfor the group since the onsetof the crisis. NBNK is also reported tohave entered exploratory talkswith National Australia Bank(NAB) about the possibleacquisition of NAB’s Clydes-dale and Yorkshire banks –although it is not yet clear ifthey are up for sale. TheAustralian group may yetdecide to expand its interestsin the UK. NBNK’s interest in Lloyd’sis understandable since theinvestment group is led byformer Lloyd’s Chairman,Lord Peter Levene, and theformer Lloyd’s Deputy Chair-man, Sir David Walker, whohas also served previouslyas Chair of Morgan StanleyInter national. Walker also conducted arecent review of corporategovernance in British bank-ing for UK Prime Minister,David Cameron.

Prime mover in UK: Sir DavidWalker of NBNK Investments

As part of the deliberations surroundingthe recent G20 summit held in Cannes,the Basel Committee on Banking Super-vision has released a list of the world’s 29systemically important banks that will berequired to raise their core tier 1 capitalratios by between 1% and 2.5% above the7% specified in the Basel III agreements. The list includes 8 US banks, 17 Euro peanbanks, 3 Japanese and one Chinese. Meanwhile the Financial Stability Board– established by the G20 in 2009 – is alsopushing banks to improve their internalsupervisory regime and for governmentsto safeguard taxpayers when bailing outinstitutions deemed too big to fail, whilealso figuring out how to resolve variouscross-border issues.

The ‘Too Big’ 29• Banco Santander (Spain)• Bank of America (USA)• Bank of China (China)• Bank of New York Mellon (USA)• Banque Populaire (France)

• Barclays (UK)• BNP Paribas (France)• CitiGroup (USA)• Commerzbank (Germany)• Credit Agricole (France)• Credit Suisse• Deutsche Bank (Germany)• Dexia (Belgium)• Goldman Sachs (USA)• HSBC (UK)• ING (Netherlands)• JPMorgan Chase (USA)• Lloyds Banking Group (UK)• Mitsubishi UFJ (Japan)• Mizuho FInancial Group (Japan)• Morgan Stanley (USA)• Nordea (Sweden)• Royal Bank of Scotland (UK)• Société Genérale (France)• State Street (USA)• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (Japan)• UBS (Switzerland)• Unicredito (Italy)• Wells Fargo (USA)

Too big too fail: the top 29

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Ulster Bank chief, Brian Hartzer,who also has responsibility forRBS’s retail and wealth divisionsis to return to Australia nextsummer. The American-born Hartzer willlead the newly created division ofAustralian financial services withinWestpac (formerly Western Pacific) –which promotes itself as “Australia’sfirst bank” but also operates in NewZealand, Fiji and Samoa. Brian Hartzer joined RBS threeyears ago having previously headedANZ Bank’s Australian business division. RBS Chief Executive, StephenHester, described Hartzer as a “valuablepart of the team restructuring RBS”

adding that he will “leave the UK retailbusiness in good health.” Banking observers in Australia arespeculating that Hartzer may have beenrecruited with a view to becoming theeventual successor to Westpac ChiefExecutive, Gail Kelly, whose five-yearcontract falls due for review in 2013. However, rather than becoming toopre-occupied with executive snakes andladders, Australia’s Financial ServicesUnion is more concerned at Westpac’srecent announcement that it intends tooutsource 188 IT jobs from its Enter-prise Testing Services division. This latest proposal comes on theback of a total of 770 redundanciesalready announced by Westpac duringthe last year.

Hartzer to leave RBS/Ulster

Brian Hartzer heading back to Australia.

A bank customer in the Basque townof Llodio got more than cash when heused the ATM outside the Caja Madridbank on his way to work. An omery serpent – which hadbecome trapped inside the cash dis-penser – emerged highly enragedbecause it was still entangled in themechanism. After eventually managing to

release the reptile by activating theATM from the inside, the resourcefulbank manager took it to an animalshelter. Local police said that while it waspossible that a cruel prankster had putthe snake in the ATM, it was equallypossible that the inquisitive ophidianhad become trapped by itself as thebank was located in a remote area.

Snake in the PASS?Customer startled by reptile at ATM


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Richard Branson (Photo: Virgin Money)

The Governor of the Bank ofEngland, Sir Mervyn King, isseeking sweeping powers forthe UK’s new PrudentialRegulatory Authority (PRA) toenable it to force banks toimplement changes – evenwhen they are complyingwith written guidelines – if, inthe opinion of the PRA, theywere taking on too much risk. Addressing MPs involvedin drafting new legislation toregulate the financial servicessector, King expressed con-cern that if the regulator didnot have these additionalpowers, the banks would finda way round the guidelines –not least because it would beimpossible to frame rules thatwould cover every eventuality. King also told the MPsthat the financial regulatorsshould be accountable toParliament and the public –rather than to the financialservices industry. In a separate developmentBritish MPs have demandedthe right to veto the appoint-ment of future governors ofthe Bank of England.

King seeksfurtherpowersover banks

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Travel will donate between10% and 20% of its agencycommission to a charity,school, club or communityorganisation of your choiceat no extra cost. Check the latest offersthrough www. iboa.ie/s/7 orwww.iboa.org.uk/s/7/. You’ll need your IBOAmembership number to logon!

Virgin on the RockNorthern Rock is to be soldto Virgin Money for £747m,the British Government hasdecided. Northern Rock plc will berebranded as Virgin Money.which has committed thatthere will be no compulsoryjob cuts for at least threeyears among its currentstaffing complement of 2,500. Nationalised in 2008 afterits near collapse at the startof the global credit crisis,

Northern Rock was sub-sequently split into twoparts – Northern Rock plc,and Northern Rock (AssetManagement), which con-tains the original bank’s baddebt. Virgin Money is acquiringthe “good Bank.” Commentators have esti-mated that the British Ex-chequer would end up with a“paper” loss of somewherebetween £400m and £650m

after injecting £1.4bn intoNorthern Rock plc. In addition to the up-front payment of £747m, afurther return of £280m mayalso accrue over the next fewyears. Meanwhile the scale ofthe potential losses at the “badbank” is still uncertain. It stillowes the Exchequer £21bn. Virgin Money is part ofSir Richard Branson’s VirginGroup.

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New proposals published by theEU Commission are seeking thatin future one third of the directorson the boards of banks shouldbe women. A draft directive from theInternal Markets Commissioner,Michel Barnier, wants this genderquota to be compulsory. Hebelieves the change would helpprevent the “group think” oftenidentified as one of the majorfactors behind the crisis that hasafflicted the global financialsector since 2008. If introduced, the Barnierproposals would force majorchanges to be made to thecomposition of the boards ofmost of the banks operating inIreland and Britain. Only one of nine directors atBank of Ireland is female – whilejust one woman sits on theboard of among six men. Although Northern Bank’sten-member board is all-male, itsDanish parent, Danske, wouldalmost meet the proposed quotawith its current total of four womenamong its thirteen directors.All four female board membersare employee representatives.Danske’s Board has five employeerepresentatives in total. Ulster Bank’s parent, RBS,also falls short of the proposedstandard – with four womenamong its fourteen directors.

The gender quota is among anumber of proposed governancereforms contained in the draftCapital Requirements Directive(known as CRD 4) – which ismainly focussed on the qualityand quantity of capital to be heldby banks in the EU –which maynow be amended again in thewake of the recent summit. While the rules about capitalratios may be quite complex, thegender quota is expressed in veryclear language: “representationof each gender shall not fallbelow one-third of membershipof the management board.” Commissioner Barnier hassaid that greater diversity onthe boards of banks and otherfinancial institutions is essential –with more women needed inparticular. “The issue is not just one ofbetter gender equality,” he said,“but also one of better corporategovernance. We need to break thegroup-think approach, which hasbeen far too prevalent in the pastwith disastrous consequences.” In a Green Paper published inApril the EU Commission said:“Gender diversity can contributeto tackling group-think. There isalso evidence that women havedifferent leadership styles, attendmore board meetings and havea positive impact on the collectiveintelligence of a group.”

Bank of Ireland boardmember, Rose Hynes

EU wants more womenon bankboardsDraft directiveon gender quotawould changeIrish boards

Gamekeeperturned poacherThe revolving door between theregulatory authorities and theregulated in the UK is illustratedby the recent case of the formerchairman of Britain’s FinancialServices Authority, Sir CallumMcCarthy, who had to stepdown temporarily as a director ofH.M. Treasury to avoid any con-flict of interest while it assessedthe bids for Northern Rock. McCarthy is also the chair ofthe European operations of USprivate equity firm, J. C. Flowers,which entered a bid for thenationalised bank. Meanwhile, Adam Apple-garth, who was Northern Rock’sChief Executive when it collapsedfour years ago, is reported to beadvising one of the privateequity firms bidding for Bank ofAmerica’s credit card business,MBNA Europe – which employsover 700 staff in Ireland.

New limitson US banksThe key elements of the USGovernment’s latest attempt tocurb excessive risk-taking onWall Street were publishedrecently. These include a ban on“proprietary trading” – tradingin shares on the bank’s ownaccount – as well as limits on thelevel of the banks’ investment inprivate equity companies andhedge funds.

Sir Callum McCarthy

EU Internal MarketsCommissioner, MichelBarnier.

Ana Patricia Botin,CEO of Santander’sUK operation.


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UK banks accused of sexismtowards customersUK Deputy Premier vows to investigatestartling claims by Cambridge economistApart from improvinggovernance in the financialservices sector, the growthin the number of femaledirectors might also helpbanks to address the percep-tion that many institutionsstill hold deeply sexist atti-tudes to female customers. A recent study by Britisheconomist, Noreena Hertz,has highlighted a number ofinstances where high streetbanks appear to have taken avery dim view of mortgageapplications involving womenon maternity leave. Even though an expansionin family size might be oneof the principal reasons forcouples looking for a mort-gage for a bigger property,it seems that some banksbelieve that women are ren-dered financially irresponsibleby maternity.

Without even consideringthe possibility that the fathercould take on the key child-rearing responsibilities afterthe birth, it appears that itis common practice to dis-count the mother’s earningsin calculating loans. As well as this ratherstereotypical approach topregnancy and maternity,Hertz has also identified afurther example of sexismtowards female entrepreneursapplying for business loans. Even though the Britishgovernment’s own statisticsrecord that 27% of small ormedium-sized businesses inthe UK are led by women;and despite the fact that anumber of previous studieshave reported that female-owned enterprises tend to gobankrupt less frequently andgenerally have a better credithistory, women tend to fare

less well in applying for start-up loans from banks. The recent UK survey ofSME Finances found thatwomen were charged higherinterest rates than men infirms of the same size andtype – while a British Govern-ment survey in 2006 reportedthat more female heads ofsmall firms said that gainingfinance was a problem forthem than men. In another study whenMBA students were asked torank a series of imaginarybusinesses in terms of theirviability, they always rankedmale-led ones higher – evenwhen everything else wasequal. Britain’s Deputy PrimeMinister, Nick Clegg, haspromised an investigation ofthe claims which, if proven,would be “not only unaccept-able, but illegal.”

BoA announcesmajor job cutsBank of America (BoA) hasconfirmed that it will cut30,000 jobs worldwide in thecoming years in order to reduceannual costs by $5bn. BoA Chief Executive, BrianMoynihan, said the Bank wouldbe focussing on cutting con-sumer banking costs. However, in an echo ofrecent developments in AIBGroup, the absence of detailon the Bank’s plans has causedwidespread concern.

The curseof AngloUntil quite recently someinternational commentatorsdeveloped the unfortunatehabit of confusing Allied IrishBank with Anglo Irish Bank. No doubt, the change ofname at Anglo came as agreat relief to many in AIBwho believed its reputationwas being tainted by theunfortunate association withIreland’s most toxic bank. Unfortunately Anglo’s newbranding as the Irish BankResolution Corporation (IBRC) –seems to have created a newblind spot in the minds ofsome foreign journalists– thistime with IBOA The FinanceUnion! Strange but true. Withinthe space of one week jour-nalists from New York andKiev contacted IBOA House tofind out (a) if we are going tochallenge Seán Quinn’s petitionfor bankruptcy in NorthernIreland and (b) what measureswe intend to take to recouploans made to Quinn HoldingsSweden ABS to acquire assetsin the Leonardo Business Centreand the Ukraina departmentstore in Kiev. In both cases, the scribesthought they were contactingIBRC. But at least the con-fusion was relatively short-lived – and didn’t make it intoprint!

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“Banking isthe secondoldestprofession butmore profitablethan the oldestprofession.”

Flann O’Brien

newsdirect

ROUGH TRADEIBOA member, David Lemon, saysit’s time to end the scourge ofrogue traders and proposes “SixPoints of Roguery” in a bid to solvethe problem.

See Page 16

DANIELS MAYHAVE TO RETURNPART OF BONUSLloyds Banking group in Britainis reported to be seeking torecover up to half of the £1.54million bonus awarded to formerChief Executive, Eric Daniels, lastyear. Just after Daniel’s departureearlier this year, the bank wasrequired to make a provisionof £3.2 billion to compensatecustomers over the mis-sellingof payment protection insurance. Some have argued that thishuge loss should have beenmore properly charged to thebank’s balance sheet for 2010rather than for 2011. If this had been the case,then the bank’s remunerationcommittee would have taken adifferent view of the level ofbonuses to be awarded to itstop executives. The Lloyd’s action may set aprecedent for other banks guiltyof mis-selling to follow.

Over half of the world’s working women – 600 million in total– are in vulnerable jobs, such as self-employment, domesticwork or unpaid work for family businesses, which often lackthe protection of labour laws, according to a comprehensivereport by UN Women, the newly established UnitedNations or-ganisation dedicated to gender equality and the empower-ment of women.

See Page 14

HORTA-OSÓRIOON SICK LEAVE Meanwhile Eric Daniel’s successoras Lloyd’s Chief Executive, AntónioHorta-Osório (above) has takentemporary leave of absence ashe is reportedly suffering fromfatigue. The news prompted animmediate 4.5% drop in thebank’s share price.

GE DER BIAS ERSI TSGENDER BIAS PERSISTSI LOBAL WO KPL EIN GLOBAL WORKPLACE

RBS DECIDESTO MAKE 400MORE STAFFREDUNDANTUlster Bank’s parent, Royal Bankof Scotland, is to make another440 staff cuts from its customersupport operations in Bristol inEngland. RBS – which is more than80% owned by the BritishExchequer – said that the newround of job cuts were part ofthe programme of 3,000 redun-dancies announced last year. The union, UNITE, has urgedthe bank to reconsider theclosure decision.

Eric Daniels

december 2011 SPECTRUM

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funding for growth, including:• E2 billion from the National

Pension Reserve Fund overthe next three years investedin job creation.

• Private pension funds shouldbe encouraged to increasetheir investment in the Irisheconomy by 5%, raising anextra E4 billion a year.

This could be achievedby making those pensionfunds – which increase invest-ments in the domestic econ-omy by 5% of asset value –exempt from the temporarypension levy imposed recentlyby the Government.

These investments shouldbe in approved activities thatboost job creation.

• Pension schemes should beencouraged to invest inSolidarity Bonds.

• A new state pension schemewould give a substantial flowof funds to the Exchequer.

Stimulatingeconomicgrowth is theonly way out ofthe recession,according tothe pre-Budgetsubmissionfrom the IrishCongress ofTrade Unions.

Speaking at the launch of theGrowth is the Key, CongressGeneral Secretary, David Begg,said: “The most important deficitfacing Ireland is the deficit in thedemand for labour. “The most effective way totackle our financial deficit is withpolicies that create jobs anddevelop innovative new productsand services. Austerity is self-defeat-ing and is suffocating the economy.Growth is the key to recovery.” Pointing to the example ofDenmark whose new governmenthas embarked on an ambitiousprogramme of public investmentto boost growth, Growth is theKey outlines a number of pro-posals to reverse the downwardspiral of the Irish economy.

Invest in jobsFor every €1 million invested ininfrastructure, up to 12 directjobs are created. Congress hasidentified various sources of

This could raise E1 billionover the next year.

• Multinationals should beencouraged to defer repat-riation of some of their profitsand set up a commercialfund to invest here.

Role of State companiesCongress believes that Statecompanies can spearhead a driveto create jobs, acting as enginesof recovery. Creating an umbrella StateHolding Company, bringing themajor semi-States together underone governing structure, wouldmake it possible for this entityto access private capital forexpansion and re-investment. This method of raising fundswould benefit citizens, says ICTU,and would offer a clear alternativeto any privatisationof State assetsthat would only benefit privatecorporations.

⁄

Growth is the Key – ICTUA better fairer way: pictured at the launchof ICTU pre-Budget submission were (from left) ICTU economist Paul Sweeney; President EugeneMcGlone; AssistantGeneral Secretary Sally-Anne Kinahan; and General Secretary; David Begg (Photo: Sam Boal/ Photocall-Ireland).

Congress has, therefore,made a number of proposalsfor reform of the tax system.• Targeting tax evasion and

pursuing uncollected taxeswould produce additionalrevenue.

• A funded social insurancescheme would allow peopleto pool savings to pay forhealthcare, pensions and sickpay.

This would also savemoney through reducedsubsidies for private health-care.

• The Universal Social Chargeshould be progressivelyrestructured to reduce therate paid by low earners.

• There should be a new levyon wealth above E2 million,with ‘wealth’ defined ascurrent value of all assets,yielding up to E500m.

• The minimum tax for highearners should be 35% –with the threshold cut toE100,000.

• A temporary levy of 2.5%should be placed on corpo-rate profits.

• Citizenship is a two-wayobligation: the 183-day tax

Above left: CongressGeneral Secretary, DavidBegg, speaking at thelaunch (Photo: Sam Boal/Photocall-Ireland).

Top right: Flashbackto May 2010: as FineGael leader, Enda Kenny(right) and then employ-ment spokesman, SimonCoveney, announce policyto create 100,000 jobs(Photo: Leon Farrell/Photo-call-Ireland).

Lower right: FinanceMinister, Michael Noonan,launches the Republic’sMedium Term Fiscal State-ment in November (Photo:Sasko Lazarov/Photocall-Ireland).

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NEWS REVIEW SPECIAL FOCUS IBOA

A State Holding Companycould lead investment in infra-structure which would boostcompetitiveness and create jobs.Such investment would include:• A state-of-the-art water and

waste network: which couldcreate up to 12,000 per-manent jobs.

• Retro-fitting energy inefficientbuildings: developing a newE8 billion industry to upgradeIreland’s 700,000 energyinefficient homes.

• Investment in public transport.• Investment in education.• Investment in health to ensure

full use of all available beds.There should be a cost-benefitanalysis of the continuing jobsmoratorium.

Reform of Tax SystemIn a time of unprecedented crisis,Congress believes that all sectorsof society must contribute toaddressing the gap between taxrevenue and expenditure. The Republic’s tax systemcontains a huge number ofexemptions and incentives thatnarrow the tax base and limit taxtake. They cost the taxpayer upto E11 billion a year.

residency requirement shouldbe cut to at most 90 days –as in the UK – so that ‘taxfugitives’ should pay more tothe Exchequer.

• There should be a new 12.5%royalty tax on oil and gasproduction.

• The rate of Capital Gains Taxshould be raised from 25%to 30% and the UniversalSocial Charge should beapplied to all capital gains.

Social protectionCongress also argues that thereshould be no further cuts tosocial welfare. Strategies are also neededto help the working poor andsafeguard income supports forpeople with disabilities. Community projects thatprotect and boost employmentshould be safeguarded. Supports which help peopletake up work – such as afford-able childcare – should be main-tained. The full Growth is the Keypre-budget submission can bedownloaded at www.ictu.ie.

S


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Over half of world’s working womenlack basic legal rights warns UNOver half of the world’s workingwomen – 600 million in total –are in vulnerable jobs, such as self-employment, domestic work orunpaid work for family businesses,which often lack the protectionof labour laws, according to acomprehensive report by UNWomen, the newly establishedUnited Nations organisationdedicated to gender equality andthe empowerment of women. Progress on the World’sWomen 2011-2012: In Pursuit ofJustice offers a comprehensiveglobal review of women’s rightsaround the world, on issuesfrom gender-based violence toequal pay, from representation ingovernment to post-conflictjustice. The report confirms thatwomen are still paid consider-

ably less than men in many“developed” countries as well assome of the world’s poorernations. On average women inmanufacturing in Japan earn61% of their male counterparts’earnings, while in Hong Kongthe figure is 60%. For all the UK’s enlightenedattitudes on gender issues, womenin manufacturing still only earn anaverage of 82% of male earnings. Executive Director of UNWomen, Michelle Bachelet – theformer President of Chile – saidthat although the report recordsthe remarkable advances ingender equality made in the lastcentury, “it also underscores thefact that despite widespreadguarantees of equality, the realityfor many millions of women isthat justice remains out of reach.

In many parts of the world,women are still denied controlover their bodies, denied a voicein decision-making, and deniedprotection from violence. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the report “highlightshow essential it is to see womenas far more than victims, but asagents of change. The report’scomprehensive statistics, com-pelling stories and keen analysiscombine to offer a sound basisfor action.” In the past hundred years,the women of the world haveachieved major progress in thepolitical arena. For example, in 1911, theywere only allowed to vote in twocountries whereas today the rightto vote is virtually universal. Furthermore, 28 countrieshave reached or exceeded the30% mark for women’s repre-sentation in parliament, and 19women are currently servingas elected Heads of State orGovernment, the report explains. But progress has also beenmade in terms of civil, economic,social, and cultural rights – with125 countries outlawing dom-estic violence, 139 countries andterritories guaranteeing genderequality in their Constitutions,115 countries supporting equalproperty rights, and 186 coun-tries ratifying the Convention onthe Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against Women(CEDAW). But in the debit column, thereport finds that globally, 603million women continue to live

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Michelle Bachelet: theformer President of Chile isnow Executive Director ofUN Women

Ban Ki-moon: the UNSecretary General says thatwomen are no longer victims– but agents of change.

Gender bias persists inglobal workplace

The 2012 IBOA Diary has beenincluded with this issue of Spectrumfor all full Union members. Pensioner members who wishto receive an IBOA Diary shoulde-mail: [email protected] with yourname, address and IBOA member-ship number or phone Anna orLouise in IBOA House on 01-4755908 (from ROI) or 02890-200130 (from NI or GB).

Did you get yourIBOA diary?

Maid in Dagenham: Sally Hawkins as Rita O’Grady – the central character in the 2010 film, “Made inDagenham,” which charts the struggle of working women to achieve fair and equal pay – based on the truestory of the 1968 strike of women working at the Ford plant in Dagenham, England.


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in countries where domesticviolence is not considered to bea crime; and over 2.6 billionwomen live in countries wheremarital rape has not beenexplicitly criminalised. The report argues that well-functioning legal and justicesystems are the backbone ofsociety and good governance asthey allow for accountability; thecreation of laws and norms; andcan fight the abuse of power. So well-functioning legalsystems are also seen as a mech-anism for women to claim theirrights through strategic litigation. Unfortunately, in many Stateslegal and justice systems are notyet “well-functioning” but are,instead, biased against women. Laws should be implementedto make a real difference forwomen, the report argues, andbarriers in terms of social stigmaand the costs and practicaldifficulties of seeking justiceneed to be addressed.

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There was a depressinginevitability about recentnews that another bankhad been taken to thecleaners by a rogue trader.How many times does thisneed to happen beforebanks waken up to therisk? Why do they all seem tooperate a business modelthat is somewhat akin to thevillage idiot sporting a ‘KickMe’ sign on his back? This time the one gettingthe kicking was UBS, whenone of their traders, KwekuAdoboli, the work hard, playhard party animal of the Delta

One trading desk, managedto run up losses of E2.3bn. Ooh, it makes me so madI feel like smacking the legs ofthe entire senior managementteam. How-many-times-have-I-told-you-to-watch-out-for-rogue-traders? One smack forevery syllable. Nick Leeson was one ofthe early trend-setters with adevastating £800m loss towipe out Barings Bank in 1995and then in 2010 Jerome Kervielupped the ante with a mind-boggling E4.9bn spree atSociété Générale. One of the commonthemes in all of these scandalsis that the management don’t

seem to understand the risksassociated with the complexdeals their party animals getup to. Mr Adoboli was a directorof the Global Synthetic EquitiesTrading operation within UBS– a division whose very nameshould be enough have riskmanagers reaching for theValium. What in the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi are syntheticequities? I thought they wereshares in companies involvedin plastics and nylon, like ICI orAnn Summers, but apparentlythey are even more exotic. They are derivativeinstruments that take longpositions on equities futurescontracts to mimic conven-tional share ownership with-out having to buy shares.Simple, isn’t it? I can’t wait until they comeup with synthetic jobs, where

you can have all the benefitsof employment, like salariesand pensions without havingto do any work. Maybe UBS had theirpriorities all wrong. Last yearthey introduced a 44-pagebooklet to staff on thecompany’s dress code which,among other things, sug-gested that women shouldwear flesh coloured knickersto avoid visible panty lines. Clearly they should havebeen more focused on anothertype of VPL – the VanishingProfit Levels. Chief Executive, OswaldGrϋbel told the Swiss weekly,Der Sonntag, that the losscouldn’t have been prevented. “If someone acts withcriminal energy then you can’tdo anything,” he said, prob-ably while wringing his handsand shrugging his shoulders.

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IBOA member, David Lemon,says it’s time to tackle thescourge of rogue traders!

ROUGH TRADE!

He also said that thepositions taken by KwekuAdoboli were within thenormal business flow butthe true magnitude of riskexposure was concealed byfictitious trades. Imagine that! A fraudstercreating fictitious entries!Whatever next! Luckily Mr Grϋbel is notconsidering a job with thepolice following his resignationin the wake of the scandal. Since banks engage traders

with salaries and bonuses inthe Who Wants to be aMillionaire? league, it’s notsurprising that occasionallytheir employees forget whatgame they are playing andplay their own version of theMillion Pound Drop instead. Banks tend to rely oncomputers to spot fraud anderror but seem to forget thatthe people they employ arevery smart and know howcomputers work. So is there really nothing

that banks can do to preventsuch catastrophic losses?Should we all just sit back andwait until the next Master ofthe Universe decides to layout a E2bn bet on the priceof crude oil or pork bellies? Well, I’m not quite asdefeatist as Mr. Grϋbel. Sothe six-point plan above ismy proposal for eradicatingthis scourge of the financialsystem. Sorted!

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Six Points of RogueryLemon’s Trades Description Tract

1 Pay the traders a bigger salary and smaller bonuses. If the bonus for successful trading wasluncheon vouchers instead of 50-foot yachts, they’d be less inclined to dabble in fraudulentE2bn deals. Unless, of course, there is a really, really nice deli beside the office.

2 Check more transactions, especially those with more than 8 noughts in them.This shouldbe done by big muscular guys, unafraid to ping the braces of the traders, while they aretied to a chair and doused in petrol. Stuck in the Middle with You by Stealers Wheel could

be played in the background for added effect.

3 Rotate the job roles. One week it’ll be all SWAPS and derivatives at the Delta One deskand the next it’s the Tango One desk with sole responsibility for stocking the drinks coolers.Of course, sole responsibility does create the risk of the odd tin of Tango going amiss but

it’s better to be Tango’d than Delta’d.

4 Screen all job applicants. This should include referring all applications to the crosswordgeek in HR. He would have been able to tell UBS that Kweku Adoboli is an anagram of ABloodi Kwuke.

5 Screen all job applicants again.Massive losses can also arise from ‘fat finger’ syndrome,when the trader keys an order for 50 M&S shares as 500m on the day they issue a profitwarning. Anyone with hands like two pounds of sausages should not be employed.

6 Don’t engage in trading activities that you don’t understand. If you don’t know yourassets from your equities, then stick to the normal banking principle of fleecing customersto provide the profits!!


TAKE•A•BREAKSpecial discounts are available for IBOA members onhotel breaks throughout Ireland. Check out one of the Union’s websites at eitherwww.iboa.ie/members/otherservicesor www.iboa.org.uk/members/otherservices for further information on thespecial offers currently available to IBOA members.

A rogue byany othername wouldsmell assweet…In the immediate aftermathof the UBS rogue tradingscandal, Britain’s BusinessSecretary, Vince Cable, cameout fighting at his party’sannual conference with verytrenchant criticisms of thebank which he described as a“rogue institution.” Now back at the day job,the Minister is examining pro-posals for the privatisation ofthe Royal Mail, Britain’s postalservice. And the main consultantsadvising the Minister on thisproject? Why, UBS, of course!

No time for rogues? –UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable.

Apart from surfacing inthe UK’s postal service, theubiquitous UBS is also advisingthe Belgian Government on itsfinancial services sector follow-ing the recent disaster withDexia Bank. After all, when it comes todealing with extensive losses,then who better to call foradvice than a bank that hasmanaged to lose E2bn (£1.5bn)to an alleged rogue trader?

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focusdirect

SOFTENINGTHE BLOW

New proposals for whistleblow-ing have been inc luded in theCentral Bank (Supervision andEnforcement) Bill.

See Page 20

REFORMING BANKING CULTUREIBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, led a Union delegation tomeet the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditureand Reform, last month. In the course of this engagement with theJoint Oireachtas Committee, Broderick made the case for the urgentreform of the culture – as well as the structure – of Irish banking inorder to avoid a repeat of the recent collapse which has had such adevastating impact on the economy.

See Page 22

STRESS NO.1CAUSE OFWORKPLACEABSENCE

Work-related stress has beenidentified as the most commoncause of long-term sicknessabsence for both manual andnon-manual employees in theUK, according to an absencemanagement survey, conductedby the Chartered Institute of Per-sonnel and Development (CIPD)and Simplyhealth.

See Page 26

SAFETY REPS ARECOST-EFFECTIVE

Safety reps deliver real benefitsto the bottom line – as well asprotecting the health of theirwork colleagues.

See Page 27

IBOA HEALTH &SAFETY BODYIBOA’s Executive Sub-Committeeon Health, Safety and Securitycontinues to monitor develop-ments across the sector.

See Page 27


I have three A-levels: one inpure mathe-matics andone in appliedmathematics.

Spike Milligan


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THE ANGLO RESCUE

SAVINGEUROPE’SBACON

…BUT WITH A HEALTHY MARGIN FOR THE SPECULATORSOne of the greatriddles of the Irishbanking bail-out inthe winter of 2008was the decisionby the Republic’sformer Ministerfor Finance, BrianLenihan, todesignate AngloIrish Bank as aninstitution of“systemic importance.”

When former Finance Minister,Brian Lenihan, announced theIrish Government’s intention totake special measures to protectAnglo Irish Bank, many com-mentators wondered how abank specialising in massivehighly speculative loans to a rel-atively small group of propertydevelopers could be consideredto be of core value to the econ-omy in the same way as majorretail banking operations like AIBand Bank of Ireland. Some of the more cynicalexplanations even presumedsome kind of shady connectionbetween Anglo bosses andmembers of the major govern-ing party, Fianna Fáil. The answer became a littleclearer recently with the revela-tion that the special treatment ofAnglo was influenced in no smallmeasure by the US TreasurySecretary, Timothy Geithner, whoat an early stage was fearful thatthe sudden collapse of Anglocould trigger the same kind ofturmoil in European banking asthe demise of Lehmann Brothers

had done in the US – because somany European lenders wereexposed to Anglo through loansand bonds. So this explains, in part atleast, why the European CentralBank has steadfastly refused toallow Anglo’s senior bond-holders to be “burned,” as somany, including members of thecurrent Irish Government be-lieve, they should have been. The ECB’s desire to protectthe European banking system isunderstandable. What is lesseasily justified is its willingnessto extend this protection to themany individuals and institutionswho have acquired Anglo bondsat a discounted price since theonset of the crisis and who arenow guaranteed the full value ofthe original bond. While many tax-payers areresigned to the need to saveEurope’s banking system, theymay be rightly alarmed at theuse of public funds to under-write the activities of speculatorsseeking to cash in on the distressof others.

Tête-a-tête: US TreasurySecretary, Timothy Geithner(left) has a brief exchangewith former French FinanceMinister, Christine Lagarde– who now heads up theInternational Monetary Fund– at a recent EU FinanceMinisters meeting (Photo:Claude Paris/AP).

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Systemic: The late BrianLenihan (Photo: SaskoLazarov, Photocall-Ireland).

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20

The Central Bank (Supervisionand Enforcement) Bill, 2011 –which was introduced by theRepublic’s Government duringthe summer – is currently mak-ing its way through the legisla-tive process. If enacted the Bill will providethe Republic’s Central Bank withsignificantly enhanced powersto supervise regulated financialservice providers and to enforcefinancial services legislation. Among these enhancedpowers is a proposal to provideincreased protection for financialsector employees who act as“whistleblowers” – which willprotect them from civil liabilityand from being penalised bytheir employer and also givethem the right to sue if they arevictimised by their employer. In this article, we outlinethese key proposals to protect“whistleblowers.”

Protected Disclosure

A central element in the Bill’s pro-posals on “whistleblowing” is theconcept of protected disclosure.

SPECTRUM december 2011

Protected disclosure is a dis-closure made by a person ingood faith to the Central Bank, aCentral Bank employee or anauthorised officer of the CentralBank where that person hasreasonable grounds for believingthat the disclosure will show:(i) that an offence was or is

being committed underfinancial services law;

(ii) that a prescribed contra-vention (as defined in the Bill)was or is being committed;

(iii) that any provision of financialservices law was or is beingcontravened; or

(iv) that evidence of the aboveis being or is likely to bedeliberately concealed ordestroyed.

Protection from CivilLiability

A person who makesa “protected dis -closure” will not beliable for damages formaking such a disclosureunless it is made in the

knowledge that the infor-mation being disclosed is false ormisleading.

A disclosure made on ananonymous basis will not qualifyas a protected disclosure under theBill. But the identity of a personwho makes a protected dis-closure will not be divulged bythe Central Bank without theindividual’s consent.

Protection from Penalisation

Where an employer penalisesor threatens to penalise anemployee (or who incites orallows someone else to do so):(i) for making a protected dis-

closure;(ii) for giving evidence in any

proceedings under financialservices law; or

(iii) because the employee hasgiven notice of his/herintention to do either (ii) or(iii);

then the employer may be guiltyof an offence and may be liable,if found guilty, to a fine of upto e250,000 and/or a term ofimprisonment term of up totwo years.

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Making progress onimproving protectionfor whistleblowers inbanking: Central BankGovernor, Patrick Honohan(below). (Photo: MarkStedman/Photocall Ire-land).


Softening the blowProposed law advances protection for ‘whistleblowers’ –

but some important issues remain unresolved


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Right to Sue for Victimisation

Where an employee is victimisedbecause s/heor any other person:(i) honestly made a protected

disclosure;(ii) gave evidence in any pro-

ceedings under financialservices law; or

(iii) gave notice of their intentionto do either (ii) or (iii),

then s/he will have a right to suethe person who victimised them. Examples of victimisation givenin the Bill include discrimination,harassment, intimidation, injuryand the threat of reprisal.

IBOA Comment

The introduction of proposals toprotect “whistleblowers” is awelcome step forward. IBOA has advocated the intro-duction of proper safeguards for“whistle-blowers” for a numberof years – including it as a formaldemand in the Union’s submis-sion to the Oireachtas Committeeon Finance as far back as 2004.However, certain aspects of theproposals require further clarifi-cation – especially the penaltiesfor employers who seek to punishor victimise “whistleblowers.”

In view of the recklessnessevident in recent years, it is notimpossible that the leaders of afinancial institution might considerthat a E250,000 fine is a riskworth taking in order to suppressinformation on a controversialpractice or event. As for the alternative punish-ment of a term of imprisonmentof up to two years, the Bill is un-clear as to who would be re-quired to serve the sentence – theChief Executive, the Chairman ofthe Board or someone else? In the case of victimisation,the Bill provides that a “whistle -blowing” employee would havethe right to sue his/her employer–but additional guarantees wouldbe needed for proper protection. Apart from copperfasteningaccess to legal costs for the em-ployee, more specific guaranteesare required to ensure that anylegal action brought by theemployee is dealt with a timelyfashion so that the employercannot delay proceedings to thedetriment of the employee. Furthermore, the options of re-instatement and re-employmentshould also be available to theemployee so as to avoid a situationwhere an employee could win acase but in effect be forced toaccept compensation from theinstitution with little prospect offinding further employment inthe financial services sector. As well as addressing theseissues in law, additional guide-lines should also be introducedin each financial institution toembed “whistleblowing” as partof the culture of Irish banking.

Speaking out: Bankingwhistleblower and formerinternal auditor at AIB,Eugene McErlean, speaksto the media at a pressconference organised bythe Transparency Ireland topromote “An Alternativeto Silence” in Buswell’sHotel in Dublin last year.(Photo: James Horan/Photocall Ireland.)


In Britain whistleblowers or those aware ofcorruption and irregularities can now con-tact Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) onspecial phone and online links that will pro-tect the caller’s identity. Under the new service, ‘SFO Confiden-tial,’ a whistleblower''s identity will be se-curely protected, though contact can bemade anonymously if preferred, the SFO an-nounced recently. Anyone in an organisation or connectedthrough business or providers of profes-sional services, and with inside knowledgeof suspect practices, can call a dedicatedteam of SFO operatives.

“I want people to come forward and tellus if they think there is fraud or corruptiongoing on in their workplace,” said SFODirector, Richard Alderman, whose jurisdictioncovers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. “Company executives, staff, professionaladvisors, business associates of variouskinds or trade competitors can talk to us inconfidence.” The reporting service is designed to caterspecifically for people who, though notthemselves the victim of fraud or directlydisadvantaged by corruption, have knowl-edge through their professional activities ofsituations that appear to be suspicious.

Easier reporting for whistleblowers in UK

Big screen exposure:Rachel Weisz stars in TheWhistleblower, based on atrue story.

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SHORT CUTS NEWS ANALYSIS SPECIAL FOCUS INSIDE

The Joint Oireachtas Committee has metsenior figures from AIB, Bank of Irelandand Anglo recently – but many of itsquestions were unanswered or, at least,inadequately answered. We sympathise with the Committee’spredicament. We experience this on aregular basis in our dealings with somebanking leaders. While it is frustrating for us, as unionrepresentatives, it is much worse for ourmembers – many of whom are beingdenied appropriate information to addressserious concerns about their own futureemployment prospects.

Despite endless rounds of meetings,we still do not have transparency aroundthe EU restructuring plans of most of theseinstitutions or the possible implicationsof these plans for staff even though weare now three years into the banking crisis. IBOA recognises the need for changein Irish banking. Indeed we were advocatesfor change when we appeared beforeyour predecessor committee in 2004. We believe our members have a vitalrole to play not only in delivering thatchange but also in contributing to theprogramme not just out of narrow self-

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…bank staff are being invited to make potentially life-changingdecisions about their future with very little information toassess the merits of the options available to them. Indeed if acredit institution was to treat its customers this way, it wouldrightly be subject to public censure and, at the very least, aninvestigation by the regulatory authorities…

IBOA meets the politicians about…

Reforming Banking CultureLast month, a delegationfrom IBOA The FinanceUnion made a presentationto the Joint OireachtasCommittee on Finance,Public Expenditure andReform.

In this article, UnionGeneral Secretary, LarryBroderick, outlines the keyissues put to the Committee.

IBOA’s written submissionis available on the Unionwebsites or by post onrequest to IBOA House.

interest but also with a wider con-cern for the needs of customersand taxpayers. Our members are anxious tofind out about the future of Irishbanking in general; the future oftheir own institution; and, ofcourse, their own role in thatfuture. Despite everything they havebeen through in the last threeyears – seeing the profession theytook pride in reduced to pariahstatus – seeing the shares theiremployers encouraged them tobuy rendered worthless by an actof colossal betrayal by those sameemployers – seeing the devasta-tion wrought on the economyand the lives of so many peopleby the reckless behaviour of theirbosses – despite all of this, bankofficials still care passionatelyabout the future of Irish bankingand wish to contribute to itsrecovery. But in our experience, theircommitment is rarely reciprocatedby the senior executives in theirown institutions – nor indeed,I have to say, by government.

Collateral DamageIt seems that a view has been taken bythe Department of Finance and by someindustry leaders that banking employeesare effectively collateral damage – andas such have no right to be treated withdue respect; no role in shaping the futureof the sector; and no right to be con-sulted even about their own personalfutures – either in terms of possibleredundancy or indeed the workingarrangements to be applied followingthe restructure.

So, in some institutions bank staff arebeing invited to make potentially life-changing decisions about their futurewith very little information with which toassess the merits of the options availableto them. Indeed if a credit institution wasto treat its customers this way, it wouldrightly be subject to public censure and,at the very least an investigation by theregulatory authorities. But apparently it is acceptable tooperate to a different lower standardwith employees.

Major issues unresolvedThree years into the crisis, a picture isfinally beginning to emerge as to theshape of Irish banking in terms of corpo-rate structures. But the bigger questions remain abouthow the banking sector can best serveeconomic and social development; or theimplications of State ownership of five ofthe original six covered institutions forcompetition and diversity; or indeed therole of foreign-owned banks – whichmay themselves rely on significant levelsof Exchequer support via their parententities. We also need a discussion about thekind of banking sector we want and needinto the future. Our fear is that, without an agreedpublic policy framework for the sector,what may finally emerge from the wreck-age of Irish banking could be even worsefrom the point of view of the customeras well as for staff. All of the major retail banks haveeither already cut staff and some arecommitted to reduce employee numbersfurther into the future – at the sametime the Joint Oireachtas Committee hasbeen assured by their representativesrecently that they do not intend toshrink their branch networks in terms oflocations.

We believe that preserving thebranch networks will be vital torebuilding trust between the cus-tomer and the institutions as willthe role of local branch managersand staff in meeting customers’needs while at the same time en-suring efficient delivery of service.The old relationships between

Branch staff and their customersthat once existed in Irish bankingmay not be restored in the sameform in the new model of bank-ing that is beginning to emerge inpilot projects at this time.These pilots may be the only

solutions for retail banking – butthere may also be other options.Customers in particular may haveviews about the quality of theircurrent relationships with thebanks and how they would likethem to develop in the future. Butso far no-one has consulted them.We believe there should at least

be a conversation about theseissues between all of the stake-holders in Irish banking – includ-ing the customers as well as thetaxpayer, the State, the share-holders and the staff.In short, what we are seeking for

our members’ benefit and for thebenefit of the people of this country is aclear vision for the future of Irish banking.

Litany of job lossesStaff in particular need to know wherethey stand. Since the crisis began, wehave already seen around 4,000 jobs goin the two pillar banks, mainly throughnatural wastage and non-replacement ofretiring and resigning staff. Just under1,000 staff have been made redundantin Ulster Bank and 750 more were let gowhen Halifax closed down. Further joblosses have already occurred in NationalIrish Bank, Anglo and Permanent-TSB. That is a fairly grim backdrop as faras employment is concerned. But theoutlook is no better. According to recentestimates up to 6,000 more may go inthe course of the next eighteen months. These are estimates – but what mymembers need is clarity and some kindof action plan to look at employmentoptions.

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WORKPLACE LIFESTYLE ARTS & LEISUREIBOA

IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick

We need a discussion aboutthe kind of banking sectorwe want and need into thefuture.

If job losses on this scalewere happening in a multi-national company, we wouldhave already seen a range ofresponses from Government.

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SHORT CUTS NEWS ANALYSIS SPECIAL FOCUS INSIDE

If job losses on this scale were happeningin a multi-national company, we would prob-ably have already seen the creation of aninter-agency task force. A Minister or junior Minister would prob-ably have been dispatched to visit companyheadquarters in America to plead the casefor these jobs – and some kind of retrainingprogramme would be in preparation in casethe closure could not be averted. No such engagement has taken place ata sectoral level in Irish banking – and thismirrors the difficulties around engagement insome major institutions.

AIB sets headlines without substanceEven in AIB which announced over 2,000 joblosses last April, we are no clearer six monthslater as to the number of jobs to go inparticular areas or locations, the terms of anyseverance arrangements, and what thenature of the employment will be for thosewho remain. Indeed the Oireachtas Committee’sexchanges with the Executive Chairman ofAIB in September showed a lack of clarity atthe highest levels in the Bank. Deputy Pearse Doherty finally managedto extract an admission from Mr. Hodgkinsonthat, instead of carrying out a detailed root-and-branch analysis of the Bank’s operationsin order to arrive at a cumulative figure forthe number of staff required to conduct itsbusiness, AIB effectively reverse-engineered theprocess. They selected a figure for job losses (ofat least 2,000) and are now belatedlytrying to produce the analysis to justify it.

Apart altogether from the serious con-cerns this raises about this approach to busi-ness, it is also an appalling way to treat staff. Employees in AIB have been told on anumber of occasions over the last eighteenmonths that the Bank would be smaller infuture. They understand the problem: theyalso recognise that even though they werenot responsible for creating the problem,they may be required to make further sacri-fices in order to achieve a resolution. What they want – and are entitled to – isreal engagement which allows them to makean input into shaping the future of the Bank. This applies both to those staff who mayopt to leave as well as those who may decideto stay. Indeed, those who stay will be vitalto expediting the recovery of AIB – which inturn will be pivotal to rebuilding the Irisheconomy.

It is probably no coincidencethat the two most toxic of theIrish banks were also the twomost staunchly anti-union.

Many deputies and senators have beenrightly concerned about the plight of the staffin Aviva who have been put through thewringer in terms of the future of theiremployment during the last month. AIB staffunderstand what they are going through –because the prospect of mass redundancieshas been hanging over the banking groupfor many months now.

Demoralising staff is short-sighted The systematic lowering of the morale ofstaff across the board is not in the mediumor long term interests of AIB – nor indeed,I suggest, is it in the best interests of thetaxpayers who are hoping for a prompt andsubstantial return on the unprecedentedsupport that has been provided for Irishbanking. A similar situation applies in Anglo whereIBOA has recently begun to represent staff.Although Anglo is winding down, staff areentitled to have some sense of how thatprocess will unfold and where they might fitinto it. This is not simply a matter of showingconsideration to employees, it is also goodfor the business and ultimately the share-holder in helping to ensure that the necessarytalent is available to the institution to carryout its mandate effectively. But again, the at-titude seems to be that the staff are collateraldamage to be written off along with Anglo’sbad debts. Incidentally, it is probably no co-incidencethat the two most toxic of the Irish banks –Anglo and Irish Nationwide – were also thetwo most staunchly anti-union. I am not saying that the presence ofa trade union would automatically havemitigated their worst excesses – but I dobelieve that their anti-union mentality was areflection of a wider culture which meantthat reckless autocrats could prevail. In fairness to Bank of Ireland, I have tosay that our relationship with them is differ-ent than our relationships with AIB andAnglo. Bank of Ireland has demonstrated awillingness to engage with us, to exchangeinformation and to share their business plansto a much fuller extent than the other twoinstitutions. We believe that other institutions couldlearn important lessons from Bank of Ireland’sgreater willingness to engage with staff.

Culture is the keyI was struck by the claims by both of themanagement teams from AIB and Bank ofIreland in their discussions with the OireachtasCommittee that they were intent onimplementing a new culture in the sector. AIB spoke of the new values andbehaviours being developed at the higherlevels of that institution while Bank of Ireland’s

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Banking bosses on their wayinto Leinster House:(top) Alan Dukes (IBRC),

middle) Richie Boucher (Bank of Ireland)and David Hogkinson (AIB).


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management conceded that they weredetermined to learn from their past mistakes.Very laudable sentiments, indeed, but unfor-tunately they are not reflected on the groundwithin Irish banking. In most of its key characteristics, webelieve the culture of Irish banking isunchanged. Indeed in a major survey under-taken for us recently, our members havetold us that in its more striking manifesta-tions – such as the pursuit of sales, theintensifying pressure on staff through per-formance targets, combined with reducedstaffing levels, increased pressure for deposit-taking without any real regard for the needsof customers or their impact on staff – thesituation is actually getting worse. Our members find this working environ-ment extremely challenging in terms of work-loads and stress levels and they believe thatit is ultimately not in the longer-term interestsof either the customer or the institution, itself. Our concern is that the mentality behindmany aspects of banking practice at the pres-ent time is one of short-termism which alsounderpinned the recklessness which led tothe crash.

It is as if the mindset is so engrained inthe higher echelons of Irish banking that theyare unwilling or unable to move away fromthat basic philosophy. It has been very difficult to try to ensurethat banking leaders face up to their respon-sibilities over the last three years. It is com-monly accepted now that they have been invarying degrees of denial about the extent ofthe problem – and, therefore, unwilling orunable to consider alternative approaches todealing with the problem. At the same time it has been galling forordinary staff and customers to see bankingbosses walk away with golden parachutesand apparently iron-clad contractual entitle-ments. Our members contrast this with theattempts made to undermine their own con-tractual rights in a number of areas. Insteadof a gold-plated pension, many of the bankstaff we represent are facing the ultimatethreat of losing their jobs. When ordinary bank officials look at Irishbanking, they see a system which appears to

When ordinary bank officialslook at Irish banking, they see asystem which appears to con-done a complete absence ofaccountability at the top whileholding those working at thecounter accountable for everycent or penny they handle on adaily basis.

Oireachtas Inquisitors:top) Alex White TD (Committee chair),

Michael McGrath, TDand Pearse Doherty TD.

condone a complete absence of accounta-bility at the top while holding those workingat the counter accountable for every cent orpenny they handle on a daily basis. While there has been some slightevidence of new thinking, the Committee’srecent exchanges with banking leaders showthat many major issues remain unresolved.

State now occupies pivotal roleWe believe they will not be resolved if theseinstitutions are left to their own devices. Theyneed help to address these bigger issues –and given its pivotal role in Irish bankingnow, we believe that the State is in a positionto advance significant changes in bankingpractice and promote a new vision for Irishbanking. That is why IBOA was grateful to havethe opportunity to engage with the JointOireachtas Committee recently. We hope it will be the first of manyengagements so that, together, with theother stakeholders, we can ensure that wechange Irish banking for the better as – ratherthan simply applying a sticking plaster solutionwhich falls apart at the next sign of a crisis. IBOA has outlined some of the areas thatneed to be addressed in its written sub-mission to the Committee which is availableon the Union websites. We need a body to oversee the imple-mentation of a range of complementaryinitiatives which will:• strengthen regulation,• raise customer confidence,• safeguard public investment, • improve the morale of bank staff, and• ensure that real lending is available to

generate jobs;– all of which are essential to restore thecredibility of Irish banking in light of theextensive reputational damage suffered inthe last three years. We need greater diversity in the board-rooms of financial institutions as well asmeasures to enhance the fitness and probityof directors. We need legal protection for whistle-blowers. We also need codes of employmentpractice to combat the climate of fearendemic in Irish banking. We need a major redesign of remunera-tion practices throughout the sector in orderto incentivise positive behaviours whichprioritise the long-term interests of theinstitution within the context of the broadereconomic and social needs of the State. We need the authorities – both publicand institutional – to treat bank staff withrespect by engaging fully with their repre-sentatives in a process of genuine consulta-tion and negotiation – to manage thetransformation of Irish banking in line withagreed principles.

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NOW NO. 1 CAUSE OFLONG-TERM ABSENCE

fifths (43%) of public sectororganisations report they will bemaking redundancies over thenext six months (compared with17% in the private sector and24% of non-profits). CIPD adviser, Dr Jill Miller,says: “The survey this year showsthat stress is for the first time thenumber one cause of long-termsickness absence, highlightingthe heightened pressure manypeople feel under in the work-place as a result of the prolongedeconomic downturn. “To a large degree, manag-ing stress is about effective lead-ership and people management,particularly during periods ofmajor change and uncertainty. “Line managers need tofocus on regaining the trust oftheir employees and openlycommunicating throughout thechange process to avoid unnec-essary stress and potential ab-sences. “They also need to be able tospot the early signs of peoplebeing under excessive pressureor having difficulty coping atwork and to provide appropriatesupport.” A link between job securityand mental health problems has

also been revealed in the survey.Employers planning to makeredundancies in the next sixmonths are significantly morelikely to report an increase inmental health problems amongtheir staff (51% compared with32% who are not planningredundancies). Although overall absencelevels reported in the survey showlittle change, the proportion ofabsence that is stress-related hasincreased. Nearly four in ten(39%) employers report an in-crease in stress-related absence,compared to just 12% reportinga decrease.

Other findings include: • Over a quarter (28%) of

employers report an increasein the number of people com-ing to work ill (‘presenteeism’)in the last 12 months

• Organisations that have notedan increase in ‘presenteeism’over the past year are morelikely to report an increase instress-related absence overthe same period (49%compared to 33% of thosewho have not reported anincrease in people comingto work ill).

SHORT CUTS INSIDESHORT CUTS NEWS ANALYSIS SAFETY FOCUS

Work-relatedstress has beenidentified as themost commoncause of long-term sicknessabsence for bothmanual andnon-manualemployees in theUK, accordingto an absencemanagementsurvey, conductedby the CharteredInstitute ofPersonnel andDevelopment(CIPD) andSimplyhealth.

Stress

Stress is now the top causeof long-term absence amongnon-manual staff, accord-ing to a major UK survey ofabsence management. Among manual workers,stress has overtaken musculo-skeletal problems to draw levelwith acute medical conditions asthe main reason for long-termabsence. The survey notes a particularrise in stress-related absenceamong public sector organisa-tions, with 50% of respondentsreporting an increase. Respondents in the publicsector point to the increasedlevel of organisational changeand restructuring as the numberone cause of stress at work –highlighting the impact of publicsector cuts to jobs, pensionbenefits and pay freezes. Job insecurity is also reportedas a more common cause ofwork-related stress in the publicsector this year (24%) comparedwith last year (10%) and is higherthan in the private (14%) andnon-profit sectors (14%). Unsurprisingly, given thesignificant budget cuts beingmade in the UK, more than two-

IT’S OFFICIAL:


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It’s your rightto work insafety andsecurity!The IBOA Safety, Health, Welfareand Security (SHWS) Committeeaims to work with members andemployers to create healthier,safer working environments foreveryone. IBOA has produced guide-lines on your rights under healthand safety legislation in theRepublic and Northern Ireland These can be accessed onthe IBOA websites by followingthese links: www.iboa.ie/knowyourrights/yourrightsroi/healthsafety.htmlfor the Republic of Ireland; and www.iboa.org.uk/knowyourrights/yourrightsni.html forNorthern Ireland. If you have any questions orconcerns about health, safetyor security in your workplace,please contact a member of yourlocal health and safety committeein the first instance. If there is no health and safetycommittee in your workplace,please contact a member ofthe IBOA National Committeebelow: Elaine Barker (BOI), CarmelCurran (FTB), Margaret Power(BOI-GB), Stephen Kennedy(BOI), Etain Ryan Lyons (AIB),Jaynette Stirling (Ulster NI),Robert Thompson (Northern/Danske) and Kate Varley (AIB). You can contact all of theseby e-mail at [email protected] or byphone at 00-353-(0)1-4755908or 00-44-(0)2890-200130.

Safety reps deliverreal benefits to thebottom line – aswell as protectingthe health of theirwork colleagues.

Small Ads – Big ChoiceHoliday Apartmentsto Rent

Adverts placed forIBOA members byIBOA members

Check out the IBOA websites:www.iboa.ie/services/smallads.html orwww.iboa.org.uk/services/smallads.html

Union reps are not a businesscost item, but an importantresource for employers in boththe public and private sector,according to a new paper fromthe British Trades Union Congress.And there’s no clearer indicationof this effect than the lifesaving,money-saving role of unionsafety reps. The TUC document on theprovision of facilities and facilitytime for union reps cites studiesshowing that around half ofsafety reps take no more thanone hour a week to undertaketheir union role – with manyspending their own time onsafety rep work. Commenting on the positiverole played by union reps, thereport notes: “As well as makinga significant contribution toincreasing productivity theymake workplaces safer, reducethe costs of recruitment and helpbusiness became more respon-sive to change by helping staffacquire new skills in addition toupdating those they already have.” The TUC document points toUK Government figures, whichput the benefits to society of

safety reps at between £136mand £371m (at 2004 prices) asa result of reducing working dayslost – while a 2007 report esti-mated that overall safety repssave society between £181mand £578m each year (at 2004prices) as a result of lost timereduction from occupationalinjuries and work-related ill-nesses of between 286,000 and616,000 days.

Safety reps are cost effective

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N of exciting training and development opportunities for

bearing in mind that in a changing workplace, members ls.

See Page 30

KERRY TRIBUTE

In a fitting tribute to KerryChristie, IBOA’s former UlsterBank Officer who died after aheroic struggle with cancerrecently – a special event in theBelfast Bankers’ Club raised£9,550 for Marie Curie CancerCare – the charity selected byKerry’s family.

See Page 32

STANDING UPFOR BETTERBANKINGA wide range of issues of partic-ular concern to young workersemployed in the financialservices sector were tabled fordiscussion by the IBOA YouthCommittee recently.

See Page 36

STEVE TAKESHIS LEAVESenior Industrial RelationsOfficer, Steve Tweed, is to leaveIBOA to take up the post ofDirector of Industrial Relationswith the Irish Medical Organi-sation.

See Page 37

iboadirect

In a gentle way,you can shakethe world.

Mohandas K.Gandhi

Handling Change, the history of IBOA, will bepublished in March by the Collins Press.

Produced by Paul Rouse and Mark Duncan, thebook was specially commissioned by the Unionto mark the renaming of the Irish Bank Officials’Association as IBOA The Finance Union. The IBOA was founded in 1918 when 350 officialsdared defy their banks’ directors. Soon it had a membershipof more than 80% of all bank officials. Initially ignored, the IBOA threatened strike and thebanks agreed to arbitration in March 1920. The arbitration report gives a remarkable insight intothe expectations of what a bank official should be, who theyshouldmarry, where they should live, and much else. Mostof all, it reveals a certain elitism among bank officials. Thetheme of strikes runs through the book. While the 1920s and 1930s were quiet, every decadeafter that saw industrial unrest and usually strike. Women came into bank-ing during the Great War andthe IBOA helped to advancetheir rights. They now makeup three quarters of IBOAmembers. Work in a bank was tediousand led to a great focus on thesocial life of the Association.Broadcasters such as TerryWogan and Bunny Carr begantheir working lives as bankofficials, while Christy Mooretook up singing during abank strike. Generations of sports-men and women worked inthe banks including inter-national rugby players, golfersand numerous GAA stars. From the unionism andelitism of its earlier years tothe later militancy, the IBOAwas unique in Irish life, re-maining a 32-county organi-sation. The evolution of the IBOAoffers a fascinating picture ofIreland – not least how bank-ing moved from a thoroughly

conservativeindustry to one so reckless asto bankrupt the Irish state. Dr. Paul Rouse, formerlyof RTE television’s flagshipcurrent affairs programmePrime Time,now teaches Irishhistory at UCD. He has alsowritten extensively on thehistory of the GAA.

Mark Duncan was central inestablishing the GAA Museumat Croke Park. He works onresearch projects in Ireland forpublic and corporate bodies. Both are co-authors ofThe GAA – A People’s History(2009) and The GAA – Countyby County (2011).


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HandlingChangeHistory of IBOA to bepublished in New Year

Former bank official,Sir Terry Wogan

Former bank official,Christy Moore

Special Offer for IBOA MembersThe recommended retail price for Handling Change is E25or £22.99. IBOA has a limited number of copies for saleto IBOA members at the special discount price of E10 or£8 (including postage and packing). Members who pre-order the book in advance of itspublication date in March 2012 will receive copiesspecially signed by the authors, Paul Rouse and MarkDuncan, and by IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick. To pre-order up to two copies at the special discountprice, please send your name, address, the number ofcopies required and your IBOA membership number toIBOA History Orders at IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper,Dublin 8 or e-mail [email protected]. We will send you a special gift voucher which can beexchanged for the book (on payment of the special price)when it is published.

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IBOA aims to offer anexpanded range of excitingtraining and developmentopportunities for membersand representatives in 2012.The Union is conscious thatin a changing workplace,members need opport-unities to develop new skills. A comprehensive scheduleof courses has been developed –please check the IBOA websitesfor the course information and ifyou are interested in signing up,please contact Louise O’Donnellby any of the methods below.

Courses for Members

Computer Training in NIThe first IBOA trainees on thecomputer skills training coursescurrently being held in NorthernIreland are expected to gain theirLevel 2 City and Guilds certificatein ICT in the first quarter of 2012. We now have a top classcomputer training suite in theIBOA premises in Malone Road,Belfast. Through our participationin Union Learning in NorthernIreland, we also have access to anumber of premises owned bythe North West Regional Collegeas well as a panel of ICT tutors. Another ICT course begins inJanuary. Successful applicantswho are on the waiting list willbe contacted shortly. At least one more ICT train-ing course will be arrangedfor the first quarter of 2012. Sointerested members are advisedto sign up as soon as possible.

Interview Skills in NIOther free training courses forIBOA members are also beingoffered through the UnionLearning Project – such as the


A matter of course

recent programme in interviewskills and techniques for IBOAmembers in Northern Bank.

Leadership Skills in NIWe are also in discussion on theroll-out of a course in leadershipskills – which will offer a recog-nised qualification and will alsobe undertaken with supportfrom the Union Learning Fund inNorthern Ireland.

Although IBOA’s partnershipwith the Union Learning Fund isnaturally confined to membersin Northern Ireland, we are alsoactively pursuing ways to developa union learning culture for ourmembers in Great Britain. Some suggestions for coursesfor members based in GB havebeen made by the IBOA YouthCommittee.

Republic of Ireland: Skillnetand other trainingOver the past two years manyIBOA members have acquiredimportant skills in such diverseareas as communication, com-puter training, employment law,

leadership, conflict management,mediation, career planning,personal development, industrialrelations, health and safety. Some of these courses wereparticularly invaluable for memberswhose job roles were changingor who were experiencing someuncertainty over job security. Much of this training waspossible through IBOA’s involve-ment in the Women at WorkSkillnet. The current round offunding from Skillnets – whichis in turn financed by the State’sNational Training Fund – is unfor-tunately coming to a close at theend of 2011, as public spendingbudgets come under increasingpressure. However, if IBOA is successfulin a new application based upona merger of two existing net-works involving IBOA and sixother trade union organisations,it will be possible to offer furthertraining for our members inRepublic of Ireland. Since upskilling is importantfor the job prospects of membersin the immediate future – and

⁄

IBOA’s Senior IndustrialRelations and Train-ing Officer, MarianGeoghegan, leads atraining session inIBOA House.

NEWS REVIEW SPECIAL FOCUS

30


TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

For further information on any course, check the IBOA websites or contact Louise O’Donnell


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ukwith many employers cuttingback on their training budgets,a new training network shouldnot only attract support fromunion members but also secureco-operation from most of theiremployers.

Courses for Activists

New Reps – 1 dayOne-day basic training coursesfor IBOA Representatives will beheld on a regional basis through-out 2012. The course is suitablefor anyone new to the role orwho has not previously attendedan IBOA training course. Participants will gain thebasic knowledge needed to takeon this crucial role – as well assources of further information toenhance their capacity.

IBOA Representative Skills –3 daysIBOA Representatives who haveattended basic training or whohave some experience and an in-terest in pursuing accreditedtraining can avail of one of theUnion’s 3-day training courses

for IBOA Union Representativesin Republic of Ireland in the firsthalf of 2012. As the first cohort of traineeson the FETAC-accredited (Level 5)pilot programme came throughwith flying colours, we are seek-ing applications from anyonewho is interested in attendingthis course which will be pro-vided initially in the regionswhere there is greatest demand. The three-day course will beheld over a number of weeks –rather than as a single block.This will enable participants tofollow-up in the workplace whatthey learn on the course. The three course modulescover the role of the IBOARepresentative, Handling Mem-bers’ Issues and an Introductionto Industrial Relations. The Union is in discussionswith ICTU Northern Ireland re-garding a similar roll-out of ac-credited learning in NorthernIreland in the second half of2012. A complete Training andResources Manual for IBOA Rep-resentatives has been developedto support the training courses.

Health and Safety TrainingIBOA now has a group ofwell-trained Health and SafetyRepresentatives in most employ-ments. As this is a critical stepin ensuring a healthy and safeworkplace for our members, theUnion is working with employersto develop this further. IBOA isarranging more courses forSafety Representatives who willbe notified of arrangementswhen finalised.

Equality TrainingA comprehensive equality courseis also in development with anaccompanying manual. This isaimed at the Union’s EqualitySub-committee and other IBOAactivists interested in equalityissues. A pilot course will run in thefirst quarter of 2012 – coveringequality legislation, handling casesand complaints, and pursuingequality issues through collectivebargaining.

On-Line TrainingThe Union aims to pilot anon-line training course for IBOARepresentatives in the first quar-ter of 2012. The course will include anumber of short modules –which,together, should take a maximumof four hours to complete. The IBOA Youth Committeehas volunteered to take part inthe pilot and offer feedback sothat the finished course will offerthe best possible experience forour Representatives. Of course, this is not a sub-stitute for face-to-face training:it is intended to complementother training options for IBOARepresentatives who are keen tolearn more.

Training Needs AnalysisFinally, we are working with ICTUto develop a comprehensiveanalysis of the training needsof Union Representatives andofficials at all levels. Members and representa-tives should avail of this oppor-tunity to have their views takeninto account in the planning oftraining provision for the nextnumber of years.

Above: the Union’snew IT Training Suiteat its Malone Roadpremises in Belfast.


31

NEWS

at [email protected] or phone 01-4755908 (from ROI) or 02890-200130 (from NI/GB).

Marian Geoghegan,IBOA’s Senior IndustrialRelations and Train-ing Officer.

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In a fitting tribute to KerryChristie, IBOA’s former UlsterBank Officer who died after aheroic struggle with cancerrecently – a special event in theBelfast Bankers’ Club raised£9,550 for Marie Curie CancerCare – the charity selected byKerry’s family. Boosted by a donation of£4,000 from IBOA, the £9,550total was the result of a majoreffort from a team of energeticvolunteers, co-ordinated bythe Union’s current Ulster BankOfficer, John Burns.

Union blastsnew securitythreat tobanks inNorthernIrelandA threat by the Real IRA toattack branches of bankslocated in Northern Irelandhas been condemned byIBOA General Secretary,Larry Broderick. The threat by the dissidentRepublican group was madein a statement given to TheGuardiannewspaper in Britain– in which the group alsoclaimed responsibility fortwo recent bomb attacks onNorthern branches of theSantander banking group. The Real IRA has claimedthat the attacks are intendedto be reprisals for the banks’role in undermining theeconomy. “No matter how angryanyone feels at the betrayalby senior executives of Irishbanking – and let’s face itbank officials are entitled tofeel angrier than most,” saidIBOA General Secretary, LarryBroderick, “threatening tolaunch attacks on bankbranches is a totally dispro-portionate and completelymisguided reaction. “The danger to ordinarybank staff and to customersis obvious. Not only are theyinnocent of any responsibilityfor the current situation –they are, in fact, victims of it. “Attacking bank branchesmakes as much sense asattacking hospitals in protestat the health cuts!,” declaredthe IBOA leader. The Union is to raise thisnew threat with the authori-ties on both sides of theborder as part of its ongoingconsultations with An GardaSíochána and the PSNI on thesecurity of bank staff.

over

Presenting the cheque for £9,550 to Marie Curie Cancer were (from left)IBOA Ulster Bank Officer, John Burns; Lesley Wright (Marie Curie), StephenChristie; IBOA Finance Officer, Sharon McAuley; and Jaynette Stirling (UlsterBank Executive Committee member).

Presenting the cheque for E4,000 to the Irish Cancer Society were (fromleft) Kate Conroy (Irish Cancer Society), IBOA Finance Officer, SharonMcAuley; and IBOA Ulster Bank Officer, John Burns.

John Campbell, Honorary Secretary of theone of the raffle prizes –a set of boxing gloves,former IBF World flyweight champion.

Table quiz participants at the Kerry Christie Tribute night in the Belfast Bankers’Club.

£9,500 for


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the event featured avery enjoy-able celebration –markedwithsparkling wine and chocolates–and including a very enter-taining table quiz whichtested the wit aswell as the wis-dom of all of theparticipants. IBOA has also made adonation of¤5,000 tothe IrishCancerSociety.

Paying a warm tribute toKerry, Union General Secretary,Larry Broderick, also presentedher husband, Stephen, with aspecially bound and printedhard copy of the virtual bookof condolences which hadbeen compiled by friends andcolleagues in messages to theIBOA website. The event also included amoving video collage of imageshighlighting different aspectsof Kerry’s life. Finally in keeping withKerry’s own fun-loving spirit,

IBOA Ulster Bank Officer, John Burns, with hiswife, Lorraine (Left) and IBOA AdminstrationManager, Jane Higgins, at the Kerry ChristieTribute night in the Belfast Bankers’ Club.

Pictured at the unveiling of the plaque for the Kerry Christie Room in the BelfastBankers’ Club were (from left) John Burns, Jaynette Stirling, Larry Broderick, StephenChristie, Amy Christie and Olivia Christie.

Belfast Bankers’ Club presentssigned by Dave Boy McAuley

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IBOA Golferof the Year

IBOA President, Jessie Doherty, presents the ladies’ trophy to PaulineNeedham – watched by Union General Secretary, Larry Broderick.

IBOA President, Jessie Doherty, presents the men’s trophy to Liam Ross –watched by Union General Secretary, Larry Broderick.

10% discount for IBOA memberson travel packages to top soccer matches

in Britain, Scotland and Spain.

For booking call 1850- 206080 from the Republicor 00-353-61-228022 from Northern Ireland.

www.mcinerneysports.com

McInerney SportsTravel Ltd.

SPORTS & SOCIAL

The annual IBOA Golfer of the Year competition tookplace at the Glasson Golf and Country Club nearAthlone during the summer. The event comprised two stableford competitions – one formen and the other for ladies – both of which were played on avery pleasant summer’s day. The competition has been plaguedwith some bad weather in recent years, so it was nice to beblessed with some good weather for a change. The men’s competition was won by Liam Ross with anexcellent score of 42 stableford points closely followed home byEddie Rouillier in second place with Billy Moloney in third. The ladies’ competition waswon by Pauline Needham withlast year’s winner, IBOA PresidentJessie Doherty, in second place. The prize for nearest the pinwas won for the third time byKeith Feehily – prompting thesuggestion that he be subjectedto a handicap for future com -petitions. A blindfold is one pro-posal being actively canvassed bysome! IBOA General Secretary, LarryBroderick, and Senior IndustrialRelations Officer, Gerry Hanna,played as guests on the day.With both producing golf of amixed standard, it is safe to saythat the course record was neverunder threat. Larry eventuallyovercame Gerry but a rematch isalready planned.


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SPORTS & SOCIAL

The Annual IBOA Day atBelfast Zoo continuesto be a very popularevent with membersand their families andfriends. Just under 700people availed of theopport unity to gainfree entry to the sightsand sounds of theanimal kingdom –thanks to IBOA! All photos: RobertThompson.

IBOA family dayat Belfast ZooBelfast Banker’s Club

is favourite haunt atHalloweenPictured above and below are some of the Halloweenrevellers who haunted the very successful Fancy Dress nightat the Belfast Bankers’ Club recently (Photos Dominic Boyd).

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A wide range of issues ofparticular concern to youngworkers employed in thefinancial services sector weretabled for discussion bythe IBOA Youth Committeerecently. Low pay, unreasonable useof disciplinary procedures as wellas the ongoing pressure to meetsales and other targets withinan oppressive culture of micro-management are combining tocreate excessive stress and alowering of morale among staff. At the same time, youngerstaff face a future in whichprospects for career advance-ment which are likely to be fewand far between as Irish bankingcontinues to contract. Despite this extremely diffi-cult background, the YouthCommittee remains upbeat andoptimistic that by mobilisingyoung members and buildingthe Union’s strength throughoutIrish banking, IBOA can make areal difference in tackling thischallenging agenda.

The Youth Committeewill meet again early in theNew Year to develop a

number of initiatives tosupport younger financialsector employees. The next

meeting will also elect a newChairperson.

Standing up for better bankingYOUTH COMMITTEE

Members of the Union’s Youth Committee with the President and General Secretary:(from left) front: Ciara Clarke, Zoe O’Neill, Rebecca Craughwell, Jessie Doherty, Larry Broderick; back: Alan Challis,Michael Keogh, Imelda Boyle, Derek McManus, Kieran McCann and Gareth Murphy (Secretary) (Photo: TommyClancy).


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10% off all productspurchased in theRepublic ofIreland orNorthern Irelandon presentationof your IBOAmembershipcard in store.

Renee’s cup runneth overIBOA member, Renee Dolan, isthe Union’s latest All-Irelandchampion. She beat off stiffcompetition to win the PGATankard National Final at DruidsGlen recently. Renee who plays golf at herlocal club in Carrick-on-Shannonis also a member of IBOA’s UlsterBank Executive Committee. Some of the Union’s othersporting All-Ireland winners hada rather more disappointing endto their championship seasons. Brendan Cummins was ingoal for Tipperary as theysurrendered their senior hurlingcrown to Kilkenny – while ColinCooper suffered a similar fatewith Kerry in the football finalagainst Dublin.

The cup that cheers: Renee Dolan clutches the PGA Tankard after her victory in the national finalin Druids Glen recently.

Steve takes his leaveSenior Industrial Relations Officer, SteveTweed, is to leave IBOA to take up thepost of Director of Industrial Relationswith the Irish Medical Organisation. Steve joined the staff of IBOA in2008 – taking on particular responsibilityfor AIB Group and Ulster Bank – whichhave both faced substantial challengesduring the period – with almost 1,000redundancies already introduced in thelatter and over 2,000 more jobs declaredto be under threat in the former. Steve has also provided committedsupport to IBOA’s Executive Sub-committeeon Safety, Health and Security. Paying tribute to Steve’s contributionto the work of the Union, IBOA GeneralSecretary, Larry Broderick, said that IBOA’sloss would be IMO’s gain. “We are sorryto see him leave and wish him all the bestin his new position.”

Senior Industrial Relations Officer, Steve Tweed

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“ It is essentialthat there shouldbe organisationof labour.This is an era oforganisation.Capital organ-ises and there-fore labour mustorganise.” Theodore

Roosevelt

workdirect

INTENSE TALKSAT NORTHERN

Talks between Northern Bankmanagement and IBOA arecontinuing on the Bank’s Trans-formation Project.

See Page 41

ELECTED!IBOA candidates from Ulster Bankseek election to the EuropeanEmployee Committee of RBS.

See Page 42

NEW RELATIONSHIP PACT AT NIB

National Irish Bank and IBOA have now concluded a future relation-ship agreement, building on the need for ongoing discussions anduse of third parties to resolve issues, in order to avoid a repeat of theprevious experience of the pensions debacle. The agreement followsa high-level meeting between NIB Chief Executive, Andrew Healy(above) and IBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick.

See Page 40

ULSTER JOBCUTS FEARAs we go to press, Ulster Bankmanagement is under signifi-cant pressure from its parentcompany, RBS, to engage in amajor restructuring programme–which could result in further joblosses – on top of almost 1,000redundancies in 2009.

See Page 42

BOI STALEMATE The Government and the Bankof Ireland should honour allagreements if they wish to se-cure implementation of theViability Plan agreed with theEU Commission over a year ago,Union General Secretary, LarryBroderick, has warned

See Page 43

TENSIONS RISEAT AIBStaff in AIB have serious con-cerns about the future directionof the institution on a numberof levels, according to IBOAGeneral Secretary, LarryBroderick, who has written tothe Bank’s senior management.

See Page 45


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Irish banking is at a crossroads. Despitethe Irish Government’s commitment toa two-pillar banking system a number ofmonths ago, we are still unclear as to thefuture shape of the sector. Although offering some measure ofcomfort to staff in AIB and Bank of Ireland,the initial announcement generatedmuch speculation and uncertainty aboutthe future of the four other bankscovered by the Government guarantee –as well as the role of foreign-ownedbanks in Ireland. IBOA has continually argued that, aspart of any Government strategic reviewof the future of the Irish economy, anextensive review of Irish banking is alsorequired. Over seven months after the FinanceMinister’s announcement of the two-pillar approach, we see Bank of Irelandestablished as an independent bank with15% only State ownership. AIB is now over 99% state-owned –but paralysed, it would seem, in develop-ing a plan for its future. EBS has been merged into AIB butwith considerable lack of clarity as to howthat merger will operate into the future. Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwidehave been merged into the IBRC which isto be wound down over twelve years. Irish Life & Permanent is to be brokenup into a retail bank, with its life businesssold off. However, that sale has recentlycome unstuck – so major doubts remain.

Indeed, the situation is as uncertainnow as it was a number of months agowith new variables being introduced tothe equation on a daily basis. However, for the vast majority of staffin Irish banking, the sector will be a lotsmaller with thousands more jobs to go– on top of the jobs already lost since2008 IBOA estimates that over the nexteighteen months we could see up to6,000 further job losses. What is damn-ing is the lack of any focus or attentionon these job losses. IBOA has continually called for a jobsinitiative aimed at protecting jobs intothe future. Of course, a jobs initiative canonly be based on an underlying strategy.But it appears, at the moment, that thereis no overall integrated strategy for Irishbanking. Instead each bank does its ownthing in terms of lending, customersupport and, indeed, staff support. It is a tragedy that staff on the front-line, who are being required to managecustomers through the most difficultperiod in our history, are faced withwide-ranging change while at the sametime many of the culprits who createdthese problems have walked away ongolden parachute pensions and extremelygenerous benefits. Even more galling is the inability ofkey decision-makers to understand thekey role of bank officials in promotingeconomic recovery and to recognise the

need to treat staff in a fair and reasonablemanner and not vilify them just becausethey are bank workers. It is a cause of particular concern toIBOA that many of the decisions taken onbanking seem to be based on the lowestkind of political expediency rather thanon sound banking sense. Those in authority need to recognisethat bank staff are human beings withfamilies, are part of the community andshould not be pilloried just because theyhappen to work in this sector. Similarly, management in the twopillar banks also need to take stock. Forthem to succeed they need to respect theloyalty and commitment of staff – ratherthan undermining them at every turn. IBOA continues to make representa-tions to Government, the Regulator, theEU and the Troika on the importance ofa strong banking sector, committed bankofficials and implementing change in afair and reasonable fashion with staffinterests given due regard as key stake-holders along with customers and taxpayers. Let us not forget that bank officialsare taxpayers too and, will be makingenormous sacrifices for the future of theeconomy. It is hoped that with theemerging realities across Europe, thosein influence in Irish banking will reviewtheir position to provide more protectionfor our members in the same way as theyprotect themselves.

Future stilluncertainfor Irishbankingwrites Larry Broderick,IBOA General Secretary

The Republic’s Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan (Photo: Photocall-Ireland)

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Following the difficulties encountered overthe Bank’s plans for the introduction of newpension arrangements, further discussionsbetween the parties have now resolved out-standing issues following the recent LabourCourt recommendation. After a high level meeting betweenNIB Chief Executive, Andrew Healy, andIBOA General Secretary, Larry Broderick, theBank and IBOA have now concluded afuture relationship agreement, building onthe need for ongoing discussions and useof third parties to resolve issues, in order toavoid a repeat of the previous experienceof the pensions debacle. Larry Broderick has welcomed this as apositive development in light of the variouschallenges facing National Irish Bank.

In the course of these discussions,Danske Bank Group reaffirmed its commit-ment to remain in Ireland and to honourthese agreements into the future. “On the thorny questions of pay, reviewof career progression and job evaluation ofnew roles, key meetings will take place inthe coming weeks to try to progress theseissues which have been outstanding forsome considerable time,” said IBOA GeneralSecretary, Larry Broderick. “Our members in National Irish Bankhave endured significant change in recentyears,” declared Broderick. “Their patience and loyalty should nowbe recognised as part of an overall solution,given Danske Bank’s commitment toNational Irish Bank into the future,” addedthe IBOA leader.


New relationship pactat National Irish BankFurther talks due with managementshortly on key issues


National Irish Bank Chief Executive, Andrew Healy.(Photo: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland)

IBOA Danske Bank Group Officer,Robert Thompson (above) wasone of IBOA’s representatives at theDanske Works Council meeting.

NATIONAL IRISH BANK

Danske Groupplans discussedby Works CouncilThe Danske Bank Group EuropeanWorks’ Council met in Copenhagenon 28 and 29 November. Extensive presentations weregiven to representatives across theDanske Bank Group by senior repre-sentatives in Danske Bank. In line with the Danske UnionGroup’s strategy, all unions repre-sented in Danske Bank met in ad-vance. Searching questions were askedof the senior management on theirfuture plans. Undoubtedly, Danske Bank, likeother banks, is faced with major challenges. IBOA has beenextremely successful in securingarrangements for job security, as apriority, in both Northern Bank andNational Irish Bank. Inevitably, thefuture of Danske Bank Group willchallenge these commitments. In the wake of these presenta-tions, IBOA General Secretary LarryBroderick, has written to bothAndrew Healy, Chief Executive ofNational Irish Bank and GerryMallon, Chief Executive of NorthernBank, to seek an early meetingto discuss the implications ofthe Group’s plans for its staff andcustomers in Ireland.

DANSKE GROUP


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In recent months, IBOA has beenfocussed on Northern Bank’s majorrestructuring programme, NorthernStar. At an early stage, the Bank reaffirmed itscommitment to honour the existing jobsecurity agreement, which gives a very clear

commitment that any redundancies inNorthern Bank will be introduced on avoluntary basis, in line with agreed termsand with a particular focus on early retire-ment. In the high-level discussions to date anumber of themes have begun to emergewhich will affect staff in key areas.


Intense talks at NorthernNorthern Star transformationprogramme continues

NORTHERN BANK

Management at NorthernBank is engaging with IBOA onthe performance managementprocess (PMP) which is due towill roll out in the New Year. The Union has taken partin lengthy discussions on thematter. Comprehensive briefingswill issue in due course – whichwill also be posted on the Unionwebsites. All members in NorthernBank should ensure that theyhave keep abreast of the IBOAguidelines on this issue.

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There have already been re-structures in a number of area,such as. Development Ireland,staff on the resource register anda number of branch closureshave taken place. In essence, the Bank hasachieved its overall objectives, inline with the job security agree-ment, with most members inthese particular areas opting forvoluntary early retirement . IBOA’s Senior IndustrialRelations Officer, Gerry Hannaalong with the Union’s NorthernBank Executive Committee willmeet the Bank for further talksand will be watching very closelywhat emerges from the overallplans of Danske Bank Group,and in particular its potential im-pact on Northern Bank.

Talks: IBOA’s Senior IndustrialRelations Officer, Gerry Hanna .

Talks on PMPunder way

As we go to press, there arestrong indications thatUlster Bank management isunder significant pressurefrom its parent company,RBS, to engage in anothermajor restructuring pro-gramme – which couldresult in further job losses –in addition to almost 1,000redundancies implementedin 2009. The Bank has already com-mitted to engage with IBOA andhas acknowledged the role ofcollective bargaining agreementsin its future plans following therecent comprehensive recom-mendation by the independentmediator, Martin King. As rumours abound aboutthe Bank’s restructuring plans,the Union has urged senior man-agement to clarify the situationat the earliest opportunity.

More job cutsfeared at Ulster

Ulster Bank Head Office at George’s Quay, Dublin(Photo: Mark Stedman/Photocall-Ireland)

IBOA has already communi-cated the concerns of membersin Ulster Bank to senior manage-ment – warning that the ongo-ing uncertainty is both unsettlingand demotivating for staff. While the Bank has confirmedthat it is engaged in a major eval-uation of the Bank’s structures,it has yet to finalise its futureplans in consultation with RBS. Nevertheless, the pre-Christ-mas period is likely to be one ofgreat uncertainty for thousandsof staff in Ulster Bank, who aresurprised that RBS could forceUlster Bank to engage in furtherrestructuring –while at the sametime rewarding senior executivesin the parent company withbonuses totalling millions ofpounds. This double-think is quitebreath-taking and will be raisedby IBOA in its future engage-ment with the Bank.BO

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IBOA nominee, Tommy Kennedy,has been elected unopposedto serve on the RBS EuropeanEmployee Council (EEC) for theRepublic of Ireland constituency. Two of Tommy’s Ulster Bankcolleagues in Northern Ireland –Jaynette Stirling and Joe Allsoppare also seeking election to theRBS EEC – Jaynette in the UKRetail, Wealth and Ulster (RWU)constituency and Joe in the UKBusiness Services seat. As both constituencies thatspan both Northern Ireland andGreat Britain, the two candidatesare banking on strong supportfrom colleagues in Northern Ire-land to ensure that Ulster Bankstaff in Northern Ireland achieverepresentation on the EEC. IBOA has played an activerole in RBS European Councilwith the late Mary Sexton and thelate Kerry Christie each serving asJoint Chairs of the Council.Indeed just three weeks beforeher death, Kerry signed off on animportant new agreement withRBS. Tommy, Jaynette and Joe aredetermined to ensure that theirlegacy will be honoured withstrong IBOA representation andactive participation in the workof the Council in future. Members in Northern Irelandcan cast their votes – no laterthan 5pm on Wednesday, Decem-ber 14 – at the dedicated web-site: www.votebyinternet.com/rbseec11/



ULSTER BANK ElectedIBOA takes ROI seat on RBSemployee council and seeksmore for Northern Ireland

Tommy Kennedy

Jaynette Stirling

Joe Allsopp

Ulster Bank Northern IrelandRBS European Employee CouncilVote for JAYNETTE STIRLINGUK Retail, Wealth and Ulster Constituency

Vote for JOE ALLSOPPUK Business Services ConstituencyVote on the dedicated website:

www.votebyinternet.com/rbseec11/by 5pm on Wednesday, December 14.


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The Government and the Bank of Irelandshould honour all agreements if theywish to secure implementation of theViability Plan agreed with the EU Com-mission over a year ago, declared UnionGeneral Secretary, Larry Broderick. The IBOA leader was addressing arecent meeting of Union activists inBank of Ireland, called to review recentdevelopments including the revisedrecommendation by the independentmediator, Mark Connaughton SC –whichconstitutes a key element in the Bank’sEU Viability Plan. Mr. Broderick acknowledged thepositive and constructive approach takenby the Bank’s senior management byengaging with the Union from the out-set, by sharing all aspects of the plan withthe Union, and by working to secure anoverall agreement. However, he added,he was extremely disappointed that, even

though both the Bank and the Union hadaccepted the revised recommendation,there appears to be some reluctance onthe part of the Department of Finance toallow the agreed recommendation to beimplemented. In his address to the Union’s BankSecretaries in Bank of Ireland, the GeneralSecretary indicated that IBOA had nointerest in engaging with any bank ordepartment that could not honour exist-ing agreements. “If this remains the position,” hedeclared, “IBOA will not co-operate withany form of restructuring in Bank ofIreland.” The two-day meeting was very con-structive and beneficial. It provided a veryinformative insight for Bank Secretarieson the major challenges facing financialservices staff not just in Bank of Ireland,but in the sector as a whole.

Bank of Ireland, Baggot Street, Dublin.(Photo: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland)

BOI stalemateDepartment of Finance stalls aftermediator’s recommendation agreed

BANK OF IRELAND

CHAPTERSBOOKSTOREParnell Street Dublin 1

10%discountfor IBOAmembers

Show your IBOAmembership cardat the pay point

Staff in customerservice centresget organisedEarlier this month, IBOA workplacerepresentatives from AIB’s Direct Chan-nels, Bank of Ireland’s Banking 365 andUlster Bank’s Dublin Mortgage Centreheld the first meeting and training day ofthe Union’s Customer Service Staff Net-work – as part of the Union’s CustomerService Initiative (CSi) campaign. At the meeting, the reps highlighteda number of issues common to staff inthese working environments as well asidentifying possible solutions to remedythe problems. A full report on the outcome of themeeting will be presented to the IBOAExecutive Committee with a strongrecommendation to extend the Union’sCSi campaign to focus on:• training and education;• raising member awareness and

participation;• building IBOA’s membership in these

areas; and• ensuring that the local issues facing

these staff form part of the Union’swider negotiating agenda with eachemployer.

CUSTOMER SERVICES

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Senior Industrial Relations OfficerIBOA The Finance Union is the leading trade union representing staff in Ireland’s banking and finance sectors.IBOA now wishes to appoint a Senior Industrial Relations Officer. Reporting to the General Secretary andbased in Dublin, the Senior Industrial Relations Officer will play a key role in servicing IBOA members inthe Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

A good communicator with the ability to work effectively as part of a dynamic team of professionals, thesuccessful candidate will have a proven track record in leading collective negotiations at company leveland in representing staff in various industrial relations fora.

A competitive remuneration package will be offered – commensurate with the responsibilities of theposition and the experience of the successful candidate.

Applicants should forward a detailed curriculum vitae and covering letter in confidence by post toMr Larry Broderick, General Secretary, IBOA The Finance Union, IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper,Dublin 8 or by email to: [email protected] to arrive no later than 5pm on Thursday, December15, 2011.

IBOA is an equal opportunities employer.

IBOA – The Finance Union


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Tensions continueto rise at AIBStaff in AIB have serious concerns aboutthe future direction of the institution ona number of levels, according to IBOAGeneral Secretary, Larry Broderick, whohas written to the Bank’s senior manage-ment in the wake of a recent meeting ofthe Union’s AIB Executive Committee, In a comprehensive letter to theBank’s Head of Human Resources –copied to the new Chief Executive, DavidDuffy – the IBOA outlined the seriousconcerns of staff at the managementethos operating within AIB. In particular, he highlighted theinconsistency in the Bank’s position inattempting to change terms and con -ditions of employment for new staff,at a time when the Bank was contem-plating over 2,000 redundancies amongexisting staff. He criticised the Bank’s failure toengage constructively with IBOA on theissues of redeployment, retraining second -ment and, in particular, the Bank’s breacheson the agreed policy on promotions. On the issue of remuneration, theGeneral Secretary highlighted the recentrevelation that a small number of staff inthe institution have been awardedspecial pay increases, at the same time as

the Bank appeared to be trying to walkaway from its contractual obligations tothe majority of staff. The Union intends to give the newmanagement team with its new ChiefExecutive – an opportunity to return tothe negotiating table to discuss, in anopen and transparent fashion, the futuredirection of the Bank. Should AIB man-agement decline to engage meaningfullywith IBOA, the Union will be forced toconsider alternative action to highlightstaff frustrations and concerns. “I hope that the appointment of thenew Chief Executive will provide a basiswhere real engagement can now start totake place between IBOA and AIB,” saidBroderick, “in order to facilitate the final-ising of an Independent Tribunal and toresolve the outstanding issues on theBank’s restructuring plans.” In the meantime, IBOA has askedmembers to engage with each other atlocal level, – to highlight further any con-cerns and frustrations and to share themwith IBOA Executive Committee mem-bers. This will feed into the Union’s over-all campaign to ensure that a changeagenda is implemented in AIB in a fairand reasonable fashion.

Barry Flanagan’s Hare sculpture at AIB Bankcentre in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

AIB GROUP

AIB has agreed to sell its assetmanagement division to SouthAfrican investment managementcompany, Prescient Holdings foran undisclosed sum. The sale isexpected to be completed in thefirst quarter of 2012. Based in Dublin, AIB InvestmentManagers (AIBIM) employs over 100 staffand is reported to have had E8.4 billionin assets under management as of lastmonth. IBOA will seek talks with Prescientmanagement with a view to protectingthe terms and conditions of employmentfor IBOA members in AIBIM. AIB was required to sell its asset man-agement arm last year as part of the re-structuring arrangements demanded bythe European Commission in return forsubstantial public investment in the Bank. Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM),had been originally been selected as thepreferred bidder for AIBIM at a reportedprice of E20m-E25m. However, when theMarch round of stress revealed that itsparent, Irish Life & Permanent, had toraise E4 billion in extra capital, ILIM with-drew from the process.

AIBIM sold toSouth Africaninvestmentcompany

For the latest news onworkplace developments,special member offersand discounts and

sports and social eventssee www.iboa.ie orwww.iboa.co.uk

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styledirect

FOR THE TOT WHO HAS EVERYTHING!Toy-makers, Fisher Price, have launched a new toddler-proof case forthe iPhone to enable babies to play games on the mobile device.What’s wrong with just giving them toys?

See Page 48

LEARNING TO GETYOUR MESSAGEACROSS

Former bank official and IBOA mem-ber, Sheila Hoctor, is the co-author ofa new book called “Better Commu-nications and how to achieve it” –which explores why we communi-cate and how we could do it better.

See Page 53

BRENDAN SEESSTARS

Decades of Stars is the latestlabour of love from the pen ofretired bank official and IBOAmember, Brendan Fullam. It is acollection of articles on hurlingheroes from every decade of theGAA’s existence.

See Page 52

British jazzsinger, GeorgeMelly, onceasked MickJagger why hisface was sowrinkled.“Laugh lines,”Jagger said,to whichMelly replied:“Nothing’s thatfunny.”

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SELF HELP 1

Performingwith a flourishFlourishing people are not just happier – they aremore productive, more innovative and creative,have better judgement and make better decisions.• They are more realistically optimistic.• They are more resilient in dealing with set-backs and

frustrations.

Maureen Gaffney addressing the Union’s Biennial DelegateConference in 2009.

• They are more effective atsetting and pursuing goals.

• They are better at motivatingand managing other people.

• They are quicker to see andexploit new opportunities.

• They achieve better balancein their lives.

At a time of deep crisis, thenotion of flourishing seemsunimaginable. However, psycho -logist, Maureen Gaffney, believespassionately that not only is itpossible for us to flourish, but inan increasingly uncertain world,it is essential that we plan to do so. Flourishing is about achiev-ing a deeper sense of well-being,meaning and purpose in spiteof – and indeed very oftenbecause of – adversity. Indeed, Maureen Gaffneyexplains that adversity can be apositive turning point in our livesif we decide that our goal is notmerely returning to the statusquo, but having better lives.

Her message is that we cando this and in this exciting andinnovative book she shows ushow. Gaffney not only draws onher lengthy experience of work-ing with many diverse organisa-tions and individuals – but alsocorrelates a fascinating bodyof recent research into thecharacteristics of high perform-ing teams and companies. One striking feature is theratio of positive versus negativeinteractions. A typical personaverages 2.5 positive inter-actions for every negative one.

Flourishing individuals who aresuccessful and healthy average4.3 to 1. But high performingteams and organisations showsignificantly more positive be-haviour with 5.6 positive inter-actions for every 1 negative. They adjust their thinkingand their behaviours to besignificantly more positive thantheir baseline state. Learning to flourish and help -ing others to flourish, accordingto Gaffney, is the most powerfuland worthwhile investment wecan make in our own well-beingand in our country's future.

“The Apptivity case provides asafe way for babies to play and learnfrom baby-friendly apps without theworry of them breaking the phone.” Nice try, Deborah, but when you’rein a hole stop digging! The core of this new product is stilla phone –and not just any phone but areal fully functional and quite priceysmartphone.

So why would you use a real phoneas a toy for a baby who may not evenbe capable of talking –never mindactually making a call? The answer to the bind Fisher-Pricehas created for itself is in the word,“toy,” which the company is generallyvery good at – but which on this occa-sion it seems to have lost sight of – in abid to chase the latest ‘cool’ trend.

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Now forthe totwho haseverything…including parentswith more money thansense, perhaps!

SHORT CUTS SPECIAL FOCUS IBOA

CONSUMING PASSIONS

When two iconic brands are combined, it canoften produce something remarkable. Appleand Fisher-Price are world leaders in their field –but Fisher-Price’s new ‘Apptivity case’ for theiPhone seems to be based on a rather strangepremise. The idea is that by enclosing an i-Phone inthis colourful rubberised toddler-proof case –complete with chunky handles, rattles andrings – it will enable babies to get to grips withthe device without damaging it. Fine – but why would you want to let thebaby play with an iPhone in the first place? According to Deborah Weber of FIsher-Price,“babies love to copy mum and dad. It’s all partof learning about the world they live in. As tech-nology becomes a bigger part of everyday life, itmskes sense that even the youngest membersof the family are interested in taking part too.

Exclusive Discountsand Special Offers

for IBOA members only!For more information on the latest special

offers for IBOA members, log on to:www.iboa.ie/members/otherservices.html or

www.iboa.org.uk/members/otherservices.html


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SPECIAL FOCUS IBOABO

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SPORTS & SOCIAL

For more information on any of theseevents – including booking forms –please check the IBOA websites atwww.iboa.ie or www.iboa.org.uk

or contact Anna or Louisein the Sports & Social Department,at IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper,

Dublin 8 or by phoning01-4755908 (from ROI) or02890-200130 (from NI/GB).

JEDWARDTHEBEANSTALKAND

Gaiety Theatre, Dublin Tuesday 27 DecemberParterre: Normal Price E34 – IBOA Price E24

(For more information, see bottom right)

Grand Opera House, Belfast, Tuesday 27 December 2.30pm.Tickets: special IBOA price of £15 (up to 6 per person)

(For more information, see bottom right)

Saturday 7January 20122.30pm

E5 Booking Fee.Special IBOAPrice – E30. See below for more info.

Special IBOA tickets – sold out!




Your IBOA Subscriptions:Claiming A RefundIf there is a change in your employment circumstances – likemoving onto part-time hours or changing to job-sharing, youmay be entitled to avail of a lower subscription rate. Thecurrent membership categories and rates are published onthe two IBOA websites at www.iboa.ie/join/subscriptions.htmland www. iboa.org.uk/join/subscriptions.html.

Please make sure you inform IBOA Head Office of any changeas soon as possible so that your subscription rate can beadjusted – and you receive prompt refund of any overpay-ments.

Please note that the rebate for any overpayments will becapped at the amount overpaid for the first 24 months afterthe change of status occurred.

You can check your personal profile online in the MembersOnly Section of the Union website and make any necessaryamendments there – or you can contact the MembershipDepartment in Head Office at the address below.

Membership Department • IBOA The Finance Union •IBOA House • Stephen Street Upper • Dublin 8 • Tel: 01-4755908 (from ROI) or 02890-200130 (from NI/GB) •E-mail: [email protected]



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THE IRISH BANKERS’ CLUBIBOA HOUSE, STEPHEN STREET UPPER, DUBLIN 8Telephone: 01-4758970 10am-12noon or after 5pm (Tuesday-Saturday).

CLUB OPENING HOURS:Tuesday-Saturday: 4.30pmuntil late.Sunday-Monday: closed.

Friday December 27:

1st Prize – Two weeks’ holiday

for two in Lanzarote2nd Prize: E300, 3rd Prize: E250,

4th Prize: E200.

Friday February 24:

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for two in Gran Canaria2nd Prize: E300, 3rd Prize: E250,

4th Prize: E200.

All Draws at 9pm. Bar Food Each Draw Night

from 5pm-10pm plus Big Attendance Prizes

UPCOMING CLUBDRAW NIGHTS

Results of recent Bankers’ Club drawsare posted on the IBOA websites:www.iboa.ie/services/sportsandsocial/bankersclub.htmlwww.iboa.org.uk/services/

sportsandsocial/bankersclub.html

Magnificent Holiday Destinations including China, West Coast USA,London Olympics, Seychelles and Dubai •

Great Cash Prizes with 2 Grand Draw Months and Bumper Christmas Draw

See Draw Application Forms included with this issue of Spectrum.

Still Selling:THE 26th BANKERS’ CLUB DRAW

New members welcome –Cost only ¤20 per annum!

Facilities include: • Special room hire rate of E100• Bar and meeting room facilities.• Catering and DJ facilities available• Big screen for all sporting occasions• Full bar licence – extensions available

For more information, please contactMichael Martin, Honorary Secretary, IrishBankers’ Club at the address above.

CLUBMEMBERSHIP

All IBOA members, Club members and their friends or family memberscan book the Irish Bankers Club for a party or special function for just ¤100

during January, February, March and AprilDON’T MISS OUT – BOOK TODAY

Club BookingsSPECIAL OFFER FOR 2011

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Decades of Stars is the latestlabour of love from the pen ofretired bank official and IBOAmember, Brendan Fullam. It is a collection of articles onhurling heroes from every decadeof the GAA’s existence, from SeánÓg Hanly, who won his firstand only All-Ireland medal withLimerick in 1897, to HenryShefflin of Kilkenny, who won hiseighth All-Ireland medal in 2011;from Kevin Armstrong of Antrimto Ken McGrath of Waterford,both of whom, like many others,never tasted All-Ireland success.

“Brendan Fullam's books glowwith affection and knowledge.”

– Con Houlihan

Packed with articles on 116 playersfrom 15 counties – many basedon interviews conducted withthe players by Brendan – as wellas photographs and autographs,Decades of Stars provides manyunique insights on success andsportsmanship in the players’own words.

“Fullam leads us into a worldof nobility.”

– Kevin Cashman

The mighty names of early timesand the stars of the past fiftyyears shine in this unique andpoignant tribute to the players ofthe great game of hurling. Although a native of Ardagh,Co. Limerick, Brendan Fullam’scareer in banking career tookhim to many parts of Ireland:Killorglin, Kilrush, Clifden, Bally-shannon and Wexford – wherehe hurled with the local team. His interest in Gaelic games –but especially hurling – began atan early age in his native parish.Yet, strangely enough, his earliestmemory is of a football final –when Cork beat Cavan in 1945. Over the years he has writtenabout almost 300 Gaelic playersand has provided a valuablebody of work to posterity. Hisprevious books include HurlingGiants, Legends of the Ash,Giants of the Ash, Captains ofthe Ash and Lest We Forget.

10% discount forIBOA memberson all products(excluding medicines and prescriptions)

AT HICKEY’S PHARMACIES IN ARKLOW,CORK, DROGHEDA, DUBLIN,* DUNDALK,GOREY, MAY NOOTH, NAVAN ANDNEWBRIDGE.

* Coolock, Crumlin, Finglas, GraftonStreet, Harold’s Cross, Henry Street,O’Connell Street, Ongar, Phibsboro,Santry, Tallaght, Terenure and Tyrrels town.

HICKEY’S PHARMACIES

Brendan stillseeing stars

Brendan Fullam

‘King’ Henry Shefflin.

New book examines the ordinary menbehind the hurling legends

GAME TIME


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Great savings and offers for IBOA members in Great Britainand Northern Ireland from Thomas Cook –

including a 6% discount on thousands of holidays.Check the Members Only Section of

the IBOA websites for more information.

Former bank official andIBOA member, Sheila Hoc-tor, is the co-author of anew book called “BetterCommunications and howto achieve it” – which ex-plores why we communi-cate and how we could doit better. It offers practical advicewhich may be useful to peopleon filling out questionnaires,speaking in public, taking part inmeetings, interview skills, under-standing IT, writing letters andbusiness documents as well asmany other useful insights. The book also has helpfultips on the small points that oftentrip us up – from basic spellingand grammar to the correctprotocol to use online. It is alsoup to date with information onmodern communication tech-nology. Published by Kerry-basedcompany, educate.ie, the bookis available online or from mostgood bookshops for ¤12.00. After thirty years with Bankof Ireland, Sheila has become abusiness, interview and lifecoach, drawing on her experiencein the business world to provideconcrete and practical examplesfor the text. She has designed trainingprogrammes for many groups.Sheila also shares her insightsinto the very important skill ofpublic speaking. Her co-author, Karina Lynn,specialises in the use of com-munications technology as wellas in written communication.

Learning to getyour messageacross

SELF HELP 2

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leisuredirect

GOOD WIN FORNICKLAUS?

Way off line and in the rough,Stephen Malone takes a heavyiron to some of the below-parevents of recent weeks.

See Page 62

Who is this man about town? See Page 57.

SPORTS QUIZ

Test your word power with our latest cross-word and perhaps you could be in line for theE50 prize. See Page 58

PRIZE CROSSWORD

Test your word power with our latest cross-word and perhaps you could be in line for theE50 prize.

See Page 60

PICTURE BOARD & SUDOKU

Prizes of E30 each are on offer for solving ourpicture quiz and the sudoku challenge. Whynot give them a try?

See Page 61

The British Boardof Film Censorswill not pass anyseduction sceneunless theseducer has onefoot on the floor.Apparently sexin England issomething likesnooker. Fred Allen

Closeto theheart:Glenn’slabour oflove


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VISUAL ARTS

Isn’t it timeyou joined theclub?OPENING HOURS:The Club opens at 5:30pmfrom Mon-day-Friday.

AVAILABLE FOR PARTIES:Available for parties on request (anyday). There is no charge for parties androom booking.

Please telephone 02890-382866after 5.30pm or e-mail: [email protected]

BelfastBankers’Club31 Malone RoadBelfast BT9 6RU

Bankingon artFrank’s Anglo-IrishascendancyDublin artist, Frank O’Dea, generated a hugeamount of interest last year with his mixedmedia work, The Anglo Irish Bank Shareholder,which incorporated real Anglo share certifi-cates into the painting. Apart from turning worthless pieces ofpaper into art, Frank also produced a windfallfor the Society of St Vincent de Paul whichreceived all the proceeds from the sale of thework. Both the original painting has been sold –along with all 35 limited edition signed prints. Frank, who has a particular interest inbanking, has produced another Anglo-themedpainting – entitled Anglo Irish Bank and theBlack Hole,which he describes as “Mixed Media(& Mixed Emotions)” which is currently on sale

Japan, Switzerland, USA,Germany, Australia and theUK.

Also pictured are two ofFrank’s more recent works,The Interval Act (left) andAnglo Irish Bank and theBlack Hole (right).

for E600 at the Balla Bán ArtGallery, in the Westbury Malloff Dublin’s Grafton Street. Working in oils from hisstudio in Clontarf, Frank hasdeveloped a unique style basedon bright colours and simplicity. Among his regular themesare fashion models, lovers,cafe/bar scenes and musiciansalong with abstract works. As well as Ireland, Frank’sworks are also found in bothprivate and public collections in

Artist, Frank O’Dea, with his painting,The Anglo Irish Bank Shareholder.

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CINEMATIX

Online DVDRentals

No more late fees!No more contracts!

No catch!A special price of ¤12.99

(usual price ¤15.99)is available to

all IBOA members.Check IBOA website

for details.

Up close and personalBest actor nomination could be on cardsAlbert Nobbs is a waiter and butlerin an upmarket Dublin hotel in thelate nineteenth century. With jobsso hard to come by at the time, heis determined to carry out all hisduties meticulously to the point ofobsession. His job is particularly importantto him because he has a secretthat neither the hotel’s guests oremployees must ever guess. Thegrumpy little man is actually agrumpy little woman! In this remarkable new film byRodrigo García, Glenn Close takeson arguably her biggest challengein a varied film career – to achievereal credibility as a man. As Close herself has com-mented in a recent interview aboutthe film, “we’ve all seen movieswith women who are supposed tobe men and you think that thepeople in the movie must be

idiots if they think that person is aman. It can take away from thestory because you have to suspendyour dis belief to a huge degree.” Apart from shouldering thekey performing role in AlbertNobbs, Close is also the film’sproducer, major fundraiser andscreenwriter (along with Irishnovelist, John Banville). Close first got to grips with thecharacter of Albert Nobbs thirtyyears ago in New York when sheplayed him/ her in the play, TheSingular Life, by Simone Ben-mussa, which was in turn basedon a story by George Moore. In this film adaptation, she isjoined by a largely Irish supportingcast which includes Jonathan RhysMyers, Mia Wasikowska, BrendanGleeson, Brenda Fricker, JanetMcTeer, Maria Doyle Kennedyand Bronagh Gallagher.

Close-Up: Glenn Closespeaking at the TorontoInternational Film Festivalin September.

A Gentleman’s Gentleman: Glenn Close (right) plays the title role in Rodrigo García’s new film, Albert Nobbs – the story of a woman who works as abutler in late nineteenth century Dublin, disguised as a man.

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1. In 1988 who became the firstboxer to have won professionalworld championships in five differ-ent weight categories?

2. Which Irish golfer won the PGAchampionship and The Open in2008?

3. Which piece of sporting equip-ment is 3 inches in diameter andweighs 6 ounces?

4. In which city is the Maracanastadium?

5. Who has played internationalfootball and cricket for Scotland?

6. What sport is played by the Min-nesota Twins?

7. Which horse trained by JohnOxx, won the 2009 Eclipse, theEpsom Derby, the 2,000 Guineas,the Irish Champion Stakes and thePrix de l’Arc de Triomphe?

8. Niall Quinn is chairman of whichEnglish Premier League club?

10. Roddy Doyle’s The Van is setagainst the background of whichsporting event?

11. Who or what is Arkle, fromwhich the racehorse took itsname?

12. What sport would you bewatching at Flinders Park?

13. Which Irish golfer won the USOpen Golf championship in June2010?

14. In 1981, Susan Brown was thefirst female competitor in whichsporting event?

15. Which Irish jockey won theEnglish Grand National at hisfifteenth attempt?

16. How many consecutive shotsdoes it take to score a 147 break insnooker?

17. Who is the only man to haveplayed in an English F. A. Cup finalin the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s?

18. Belfast’s City airport is namedafter which Irish sports person?

19. Which was the first Asian coun-try to hold a F1 Grand Prix?

20. Who is the only man to captainEngland while playing Third Divisionfootball?

A prize of E30 will be awarded to the sender of the first correct entry drawn from our post bag on January 13, 2012. All entriesshould be sent to Sports Quiz, Spectrum, IBOA –The Finance Union, IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8.

SPORTSQUIZWINE50

George back soonOur regular sports columnist, GeorgeHamilton, made the news himselfrecently when he suffered a majorcoronary event which has kept himout of action for a few months. How-ever, we are pleased to report thatGeorge is now well on the mend andwill be returning to duty with RTE andwith Spectrum very soon.

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PREVIOUS SOLUTION

Across: 1. Breakdown; 6. Truck; 9; 10. Symposium; 11. Rainforest; 12. Once;14. Finesse; 15. Scandal; 17. Believe; 19. Anarchy; 20. Inch; 22. Sterilised; 25.Apertures; 26. No Use; 27. Eager; 28. Discarded.Down: 1. Blair; 2. Emotional; 3. Kingfisher; 4. Observe; 5. Nemesis; 6. Thor; 7.Union; 8. Kimberley; 13. Casablanca; 14. Fabricate; 16. Dachshund; 18. Entered;19. Arrests; 21. Clegg; 23. Dread; 24. Star.

The winning entry for the prize crossword competition in the last issue wassubmitted by Karen Ash of Ightham, Kent.

Name............................................................ Union No ..............

Address ...........................................................................................

........................................................................................................

E-mail Address ................................................................................

Employer................................... Branch/Dept.............................

A prize of E50 will be given to the sender of the first cor-rect entry drawn from ourpost bag on January 13, 2012.Entries should be sent to Crossword, Spectrum, IBOA –The Finance Union, IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper,Dublin 8. A photocopy of the grid is acceptable if youprefer not to cut up the magazine.

Across:1. Divided city in Middle

East (9)6. Scripture sacred to

Christians (5)9. Belly-button (5)10. Cycle track (9)11. Unbearable sadness

(10)12. Setback (4)14. Five-piece band (7)15. Contempt (7)17. Preoccupy (7)19. Place of learning (7)20. Bone in forearm (4)22. Escapes (10)25. Lost at sea? (9)26. Asian country (5)27. Icy rain (5)28. Collection of animals

(9)

Down:1. Jinxed resident of

whales? (5)2. Uncovering (9)3. Greeting (10)4. Young hare (7)5. Kind of duck (7)6. Wait (4)7. Former UK premier (5)8. Unforeseen crisis (9)13. Increasing in intensity

(10)14. Complaining constantly

(9)16. Great leader from

Macedonia (9)18. Scornful wit (7)19. Leave behind (7)21. Female relation (5)23. Trap (5)24. Assist (4)

A prize of E50 will be awarded to the first entrydrawn from our post bag after the closing date.

10% discount on any mobile phone* or mobile accessoryfor IBOA members in the Republic of Ireland.

*except the Apple i-Phone

PRIZECROSSWORDWINE50

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2 8

3 6 4

6 8 7 2

6 7 2 9

8 7 3

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2 3 4

1 5 6 7Use the first letter of the surnames of each of the celebrities pictured to spell out the surname of an Irish politician.Answers on a post card, please, with your name, address and e-mail address and IBOA membership number toPicture Board, Spectrum, IBOA House, Stephen Street Upper, Dublin 8. A prize of E30 will be awarded to the senderof the first correct entry drawn from our post bag on January 13, 2012. The winner of the last Picture Board quiz wasJohn Hanratty of Dundalk, Co. Louth. The answer was McIlroy.

PICTUREBOARDWINE30

awarded to the sender of the firstcorrect entry drawn from our post bag on January 13,2012. All entries should be sent to Sudoku, Spectrum,IBOA – The Finance Union, IBOA House, Stephen StreetUpper, Dublin 8.

You can submit your entry on a photo copy of the grid– if you would prefer not to cut up the magazine. Thewinning entry for the Sudoku Challenge in the last issuewas submitted by Ria Mathews of College Green, Dublin.

Name....................................................... Union No: ...................................

Address .........................................................................................................

......................................................................................................................

E-mail Address ..............................................................................................

Employer.................................. Branch/Dept...............................................

SUDOKUCHALLENGEWINE30

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ULTRAVIOLET


with STEPHEN MALONE

Not family silver!The Belarus Central Bank held a fire-sale ofsorts to raise much needed funds – with arange of second-hand office equipment andfurniture on offer. Around 500 lots – including ten safes, twosuitcases, thirty paper bags(!), a sugar bowland a previously used dictaphone – were putup for auction last month – in the hope ofraising a sum equal to £10,000 or ¤11,500.Every little helps!

Airbrushed from history:Fred’s foolish foibles!

The Jack Nicklaus fiver: In hindsight probably one of Sir Fred Goodwin’s better ideas for RBS – especiallycompared to the bank-busting merger with ABN Amro.

Good to see that Royal Bank of Scotland hasbeen giving some attention to its history. TheRBS website contains an interesting featurewhich tries to tell the bank’s story from itsorigins in the 17th century to the present daythrough 100 objects. Of course, projects like these are alwaysfull of difficult choices about what to put in andwhat to leave out. So although the historicoffer document to buy NatWest in 1999 isincluded, markedly absent is the equallyhistoric 2007 proposal document for theacquisition of ABN Amro –which made such amajor contribution to the collapse of the bank.

Also missing is another example of therather bizarre tenure of Sir Fred Goodwin asthe bank’s CEO – the curious Jack Nicklausfiver. While Fred “the Shred” had little com-punction in making thousands of RBS staffredundant, he revealed his soft spot for golfby commissioning a special bank note inhonour of the American golf legend. But perhaps the most glaring omissionfrom their list of “Turning Points” is the virtualnationalisation of the bank in 2008 – not leastbecause the history includes a section entitled“Surviving and Learning from Times ofTurmoil.”

Edwina Currie: strictly no repeatof Widdicombe’s comedic value.

Bid to curryfavour failsThe early demise of former UKConservative Minister, EdwinaCurrie, from this season’s StrictlyCome Dancing on BBC 1, musthave come as a shock to JohnMajor’s one-time lover after hererstwhile colleague, Ann Widdi-combe, enjoyed modest successin last year’s series, despite herobvious shortcomings as a dancer. Nevertheless, the sight ofEdwina on our television screensbrought to mind the astuteobservation by Mrs. Merton (akaCaroline Ahern, creator of TheRoyle Family) that Edwina Curriewas a female version ofMargaret Thatcher.

Group of debt!If only Michel Platini and the blazers in UEFAhad a little more imagination, the draw for theEuro 2012 finals could have brought togetherthe four ‘PIIG’ countries whose governmentsare currently engaging with the IMF/ECB/EUTroika – Portugal, Ireland, Italy and Greece. As luck would have it, all four have qualifiedfor the European football’s showpiece tourna-ment in Poland and the Ukraine. So we couldhave been in the group of debt!Michel Platini


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PLEASE QUOTE ALBORAN GOLF DEAL: As soon as we confirm your hotel and golfreservation you can book your flights: check Aer Lingus/Ryanair for regular flights to Murcia(2 hours from Alborán or to Malaga (3 hours from Alborán).

Almeria Golf SpecialVenue: El Toyo, Almeria, South-East SpainHotel: Choose from the following 4-star hotels – all situated beside the beach and golf course –Hotel CaboGata Plaza Suites (www.suitesplaza.com),Hotel Garden Cabo de Gata (www.gardenhotels.com) orHotel Barceló Cabo de Gata (www.barcelo.com)Golf Courses: Alborán (www.alborangolf.com) and La Envia (www.laenviagolf.com)

Option A: 4 nights and 3 rounds at Alborán

Option B: 7 nights and 4 rounds at Alborán

Option C: 7 nights and 3 rounds at Alborán + 2 rounds at La Envia(ask for transfer prices to La Envia)

Buffet breakfast daily and evening dinner included.

BOOK NOW!Offer valid until June 15, 2012 – Prices for summer 2012 on request

E-mail any of the following to book the hotel and golf:Jose R. Espinosa – [email protected] (Tel/Fax: 00-34-950208583

Pace Venegas – [email protected] Fagan – [email protected]

What’s included

E185 pps!

E320 pps!

E295 pps!

spectrum december 2011

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