Former Ulster Bank and KBC Bank customers have closed a total of 84,494 current and deposit bank accounts in October, according to latest statistics from the Central Bank.
Both Ulster Bank and KBC Bank are currently in the process of closing their operations in Ireland.
According to the Central Bank the total number of accounts that have been closed by previous Ulster Bank and KBC customers in the 10 months to October was 464,998.
Many of these customers have opened new accounts with the the three largest remaining retail banks – Allied Irish Banks (AIB), Bank of Ireland, and Permanent tsb.
Latest figures show that 800,325 accounts were opened in these three banks in the first 10 months of the year. The majority of these were current accounts and 58% of all accounts opened since the beginning of the year were opened online with the remainder opened in branch.
The Central Bank’s director of consumer protection, Colm Kincaid, said the forced “migration” of large numbers of customer accounts from a bank is unprecedented in the Irish market.
He said this process has required a significant response from other banks, financial service providers and other commercial entities to ensure that it has been properly managed.
“We understand that for many people, switching their account may not be a priority in the run up to Christmas, but we continue to encourage people to take action sooner rather than later to ensure they move their banking arrangements to retain the level of banking service they need.
“If you are having any difficulty in moving your banking arrangements, you can contact your bank which is required to support you through this transition,“ Kincaid added.
The latest Central Bank statistics show that out of the total number of current and deposit accounts open at beginning of the year in Ulster Bank and KBC Bank 38% were closed by the end of October.
The bank said that 447,733 current accounts remain open with 341,184 described by the exiting banks to be “active” accounts while 247,116 were also described as the customers’ primary’ account.
Kincaid said that the Central Bank is continuing to “scrutinise very closely” the account closing procedure.
He said the bank wants to ensure that “no customer account is closed until all and every reasonable measure has been taken to ensure that the customer has been enabled to switch”.