AROUND 8,000 CUSTOMERS of Danske Bank are having their accounts shut down this weekend, two months after the lender sent out letters to those affected warning them to close their account or switch to another institution by today.

The bank, which announced last October that it was pulling out of the Irish personal finance market, has been attempting to reassure account-holders this afternoon in the wake of newspapers reports about the close-down this morning.

Here are the main points Danske Bank have been communicating following the earlier reports:

• The 8,000 accounts being shut today are those of customers with stand-alone products only (ie. a current or savings account)
• A further 7,000 people contacted the bank in the past two months to close or switch their accounts.
• Of the remaining number, 6,000 accounts have had no transactions in the past month and are now deemed to be ‘inactive’.
• Another 2,000 accounts have had some transactions in the last month. If you have cash in one of these, you’ll still be able to access it with your ATM card until Monday.
• Even after this weekend, if you have cash in a Danske account you can of course still get your money. Contact the bank and they’ll issue you a draft.

A spokesperson for Danske said that customers with personal banking accounts in Ireland were being contacted in tranches, and that the group affected today received letters in early December.

Customers in the first phase who only hold a credit card with Danske have until 7 March to move to another provider.

Next phase

The next batch of customers who are being called upon to take action are those with multiple accounts (savings and current). They would have received letters just before Christmas — and their accounts are being closed two weeks from today, on 21 February.

The bank is stressing that other customers who haven’t received any communication from them don’t need to take action just yet.

According to a statement:

Customers with accounts including mortgages or custody accounts have not yet been written to and do not need to take any action until they receive their letter from Danske Bank.

These facilities remain fully operational.  These customers will receive two months notice of current or savings account closures.

The bank’s customer helpline is open until 8pm tonight, and again tomorrow from 9am to 4.30. The number to call is 1890 866 866.

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