FEATURE
Set for Action on Climate Change Mark Crimmins, Ulster Bank Head of Northern Ireland, tells Ambition about the bank’s commitment to addressing climate change, its role in economic recovery, and its parent bank NatWest’s strong commitment to Northern Ireland.
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ith the pandemic and Brexit, businesses in Northern Ireland haven’t had to look far for challenges over the last 12 months. In the second quarter of 2020, we saw the sharpest contraction in economic output in a century, and by the end of the year, we were staring into another prolonged lockdown. It would have been easy for business owners to despair. But whilst the experiences of firms in different sectors vary greatly, overall the Northern Ireland economy is now not in as bad a position as had perhaps been expected. We are now able to be a little more positive about the outlook than conditions six or nine months ago would have allowed. Indeed, the latest Ulster Bank NI PMI points to increasing signs of stabilisation in the local private sector and increasing optimism for the year ahead, albeit at lower levels than elsewhere in the UK. There are a number of reasons for this more stable picture. One is the way businesses have been able to adapt and continue their operations. Another is confidence that comes from the growing number of people being vaccinated and the gradual reopening of parts of the economy. Then there is of course the significant level of support that has been provided. Ulster Bank, for its part, supported over 10,000 business customers in Northern Ireland with more than £400m in COVID-related lending,
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