Ulster Bank settles with manager accused of giving parents 10 times the normal savings rate
The woman sued her employer after she was suspended from her position.
A BANK MANAGER’S High Court action against her employer, brought after she was suspended from her position, has been settled.
The woman sued Ulster Bank after it brought disciplinary proceedings against her.
The bank accused her of applying a substantially higher than normal interest rate to a €100,000 savings account held by her parents.
The bank further claimed that at one point it was believed up to 10 times the correct rate was obtained by her parents on the deposit account, which held their life savings.
The woman, who had been working in banking for 20 years, denies the accusations.
She had brought proceedings against the bank aimed at ending both her suspension and the disciplinary process on grounds including that the investigation was taking too long. She also claimed she was denied fair procedures and was suffering stress because of her unfair treatment.
Reputation
She further claimed she was suffering reputational damage.
The bank, in opposing her claims, said it had complied with its own procedures. The investigation had taken longer than expected due to the intricate nature of what was involved, it argued.
It also argued the woman failed to adhere to instructions that staff should avoid financial conflicts of interests by never making transactions on behalf of friends or family.
The action opened before Justice Carmel Stewart last month, but had been adjourned until today after an issue arose over the discovery of documents in the case.
When the matter returned before the court, Justice Stewart was told the case had settled. No details of the settlement, which is understood to be confidential, were revealed in court.
Investigation
Previously, the court heard the woman was suspended on full pay by the bank in May 2015 to allow an investigation be carried out. She was told the process would be done as quickly as possible.
A year later, in May 2016, she was notified by the bank she would face disciplinary action alleging that between 2008 and 2014, she directly or indirectly instructed the bank’s capital market unit to apply a substantially higher interest rate to her parents’ Ulster Bank deposition account.
A sibling worked in the bank until his employment ended in December 2015, the court also heard.
The woman said her involvement with her parents’ account was not unusual, that she never attempted to hide her, or her sibling’s, relationship with their parents’ account and that it was all transparent.
