1,500 jobs to go at the Bank of Ireland ‘in cost cutting exercise’
Bank of Ireland has signalled that up to 1,500 more jobs may have to go to reduce costs and reflect its reduced size, but the lender has ruled out any branch closures.
The bank, which is 15 per cent owned by the State, had close to 16,000 employees at that time but has since reduced staff numbers by 3,700, which could mean up to 1,500 more jobs are at risk.
Mr Boucher said the bank would base the decision on costs rather than actual staff numbers, as measuring cost cutting by reducing staff can be “deceptive”.
“A headcount thing is an important measure but it isn’t the only measure. It is actually reducing the full cost. You could have one highly paid person for four people at a lower paid level,” he said.
The bank set aside a €66 million provision to cover job cuts as it restarts its redundancy programme. The decision to cut jobs would be based on a business-by-business review, said Mr Boucher.
He rejected the suggestion that this method would feed uncertainty among staff rather than saying the number of staff to go.
“If you come out with some dramatic number, then everyone is spending six months around coffee machines wondering who is next, am I going to get it?” he said.
Mr Boucher said the bank did not intend closing any of its 254 branches as it needed them to sell products to customers to increase its revenues. The lender would instead reduce costs by changing work being done in the branches.
The bank’s shares fell 3 per cent to 9.5 cent yesterday after Mr Boucher said it would be “very challenging” for the bank to meet its target net interest margin, the difference between what it pays for funding and charges for loans, of 2 per cent by 2014. The margin fell to 1.2 per cent in June from 1.33 per cent a year earlier.
Including the cost of the guarantee scheme, the margin was 0.88 per cent in the first half of the year down from 1 per cent in June 2011.
The bank’s pretax loss more than doubled to €1.25 billion in the first half on the same period last year. Operating profit, before bad loan charges and other items, fell 65 per cent to €58 million.
Loan impairment charges rose to €941 million from €842 million due to the charge for bad residential mortgages almost doubling to €310 million from €159 million.
The number of impaired mortgages rose by 61 per cent to €2.4 billion over the six months, while the number of properties repossessed increased by just 34.
Mr Boucher said the bank would take action on mortgages that customers could not afford but it would work with customers first to find amicable solutions. “It is a regrettable but unfortunate fact of life that repossessions are going to increase,” he said.
He described as “an isolated case” the write-off of €152,000 in mortgage debt owed by Dublin nurse Laura White last April.
Arrears of 90 days or more on owner-occupier mortgages rose to 7 per cent on June 30th from 5.6 per cent six months earlier, while buy-to-let mortgage arrears rose to 14 per cent from 10.8 per cent.
Total impaired loans increased to €15.4 billion or 15 per cent of total loans at the bank at the end of June from €13.5 billion or 12 per cent at the end of last December.
Asked whether the bank had, like AIB, misreported arrears cases to the Irish Credit Bureau, Mr Boucher said that based on a review he had requested he “didn’t think that is an issue” for the bank.
On potential computer problems, such as those recently experienced by Ulster Bank, Mr Boucher said that Bank of Ireland had invested in “disaster recovery systems”.
An aspirin a day ‘keeps the risk of cancer away’
A daily dose of aspirin for over-60s can cut their risk of cancer by up to 40 per cent and may offer protection after just a few years, researchers claim.
A study of more than 100,000 healthy people found that those who took a dose of aspirin every day were two fifths less likely to develop and die from stomach, oesophageal or colorectal cancer in the following decade.
They also had a 12 per cent lower risk of dying from other cancers, adding up to an overall 16 per cent lower risk of death from cancer of any type.
Although earlier research had found similar results, the new paper adds to the evidence in favour of taking the drug as a protective measure.
Doctors have previously called for low doses of aspirin to be taken from middle age, especially for people with a family history of cancer or heart disease, which it is also thought to protect against.
The authors of the latest study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said: “Even a relatively modest benefit with respect to overall cancer mortality could still meaningfully influence the balances of risks and benefits of prophylactic (protective) aspirin use.”
The researchers, from the American Cancer Society, studied data on more than 100,000 healthy men and women, most of whom were over 60, and questioned them about their use of aspirin at regular intervals over the next decade.
They found that those who used aspirin every day were less likely to die from cancer in the following eleven years, with the biggest effect on cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
Unlike previous research, the study found there was no difference between patients who had been taking the drug daily for less than five years, and those whose use was longer-term.
Referencing a separate study, the scientists said there was “some suggestion” the protective effect of aspirin could begin within three years of daily use.
In an editorial accompanying the article Dr John Baron of North Carolina University said the health benefit of aspirin estimated by the study could be “conservative”, adding: “The drug clearly reduces the incidence and mortality from luminal gastrointestinal cancers, and it may similarly affect other cancers.”
But Dr Eric Jacobs, who led the study, emphasised people should not take aspirin every day before discussing the potential side effects, such as stomach bleeds, with their doctors.
He said: “Although recent evidence about aspirin use and cancer is encouraging, it is still premature to recommend people start taking aspirin specifically to prevent cancer.
“Even low-dose aspirin can substantially increase the risk of serious gastrointestinal bleeding. Decisions about aspirin use should be made by balancing the risks against the benefits in the context of each individual’s medical history.”
Connacht Gold wins a Oscar food award for its butter
Connacht Gold has been awarded the highest accolade of three stars for its Softer Butter at the prestigious UK and Ireland Great Taste Awards 2012.
Repeating the success of the last two years which saw Connacht Gold butter achieve gold star status, the Connacht Gold Softer Butter was singled out among the top one per cent of products to achieve the coveted three star award in this year’s competition.
Out of almost 9,000 food products entered by 1,800 companies, just 123 products were awarded three stars – the definition of “an exquisite food that has that indefinable something extra.”
Known as the Oscars of the food world, the Great Taste Awards saw 350 expert judges blind taste the best products on offer across the UK and Ireland over an intense 45 day period. Before gold is awarded, a minimum of 12 experts taste, discuss, and agree on the most outstanding products. The awards will be presented in London in early September.
Announcing the award, the judges noted the creamy qualities of Connacht Gold’s Softer Butter and commented: “A large rustic block of creamy looking butter; creamy on the palate with a salt back note. Tastes fresh and melts well with no greasiness on the palate.”
Eoghan Sweeney, general manager of the Connacht Gold Consumer Foods Business, said: “We are thrilled to have achieved such high recognition for our butter in such a prestigious competition. It is testament to the quality of milk from our suppliers and the dedication of employees in consistently churning and packing a product of internationally recognised quality and taste.”
A humble hero is our Katie who is not afraid to show her faith
‘Katie’s St Mark’s Pentecostal church celebrates her victory’
Katie Taylor’s strong religious faith has been on plain view during the past few momentous days, with the boxer crediting her extraordinary Olympic success to her relationship with God.
Around 100 supporters gathered in Katie’s St Mark’s Pentecostal church in the city centre to cheer on our new Olympic gold medallist yesterday.
Her supporters joined Sean Mullarkey, pastor at St Mark’s Church on Pearse Street, to wish the boxer well and say prayers for her.
The pastor is now planning a special thanksgiving service with Katie and her family to celebrate her victory.
“I’ve been here 11 years and for the last eight I’ve been senior pastor and Katie and her family have been part of all that’s going on during that time,” he said.
“She’s one of the most genuine people you’ll ever meet. You’d run out of superlatives and descriptives for Katie, she’s a very, very genuine person.
“I hope she enjoys the success and gets to savour it and that she receives the plaudits that she deserves. We were definitely praying for her here.”
But pastor Mullarkey has said he would now like to see Katie retire from boxing, as does her father Peter.
“It’d be my preference and I know it’s Peter’s preference that she finishes now while she’s healthy, and that she finds whatever is her next calling.
“She’d be such a great ambassador on so many levels for so many helpful organisations if she doesn’t go into training other girls in boxing.
“On the last Sunday before she went to the Olympics she came up on stage and I said thanks for being a great role model for my kids. My kids are crazy about her.”
He added: “Her faith isn’t something that she does on Sundays, it’s a weekday relationship with God and it impacts on her every day.”
Meanwhile, young supporters of Katie described her as a humble hero, who is never afraid to show her faith.
Sarah Doherty (19) from Buckingham Street said: “She’s Christian and I love the way she’s so open about it. People respect that as well.”
And Des Curtis from Greystones, a youth worker at the church, added:”That was a tough fight. But Katie really deserved it and I’m just delighted for her.”
Sandpiper male bird sacrifices sleep for sex, a says study
The male pectoral sandpiper left: avoids sleeping to meet mates like the female on the right.
By analysing sleep patterns and testing the paternity of chicks, a team of researchers from Germany and Switzerland have found that male individuals that sleep less sire the most offspring’s.
IF YOU snooze you lose, at least that is if you are a male sandpiper. You meet more females and mate more often if you are willing to keep sleep to a minimum.
Things can get pretty competitive during the Arctic summer when male pectoral sandpipers (Calidris melanotos) battle it out for access to females.
And while in most circumstances sleep deprivation is a bad idea, the strategy of staying awake longer pays dividends for the male sandpiper, who wants to father more offspring.
Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology studied mating and brain activity in Alaskan male and female sandpipers during the frantic few weeks, when mating takes place under the constant daylight of the Arctic summer. They published their findings online yesterday in Science Express.
Males court females but also have to fight to keep potential competitors out of the way. Some males though take the short road to success by taking the long road in getting there. The researchers used a combination of tags that monitored movement, male and female interactions and both muscle and brain activity to keep tabs on how courtships progressed.
They also used DNA paternity testing to track the winners and losers in the battle for mates.
They quickly found that males willing to forgo sleep or take less of it were the more successful suitors, mating more often and producing more offspring.
This group also pursued the avian equivalent of the “power nap”. Brain activity monitoring showed these birds slept less but the sleep they took was deeper.
The finding runs counter to the long-established assumption that sleep deprivation is universally a bad thing, the researchers note.
The sandpiper under study is not a native nor does it overwinter here, according to Birdwatch Ireland. There are occasional sightings of the bird, off course on its way to warmer climes in South America.
