Professor Mark Durkin of the University's Ulster Business School has told local businesses to embrace the changes brought by new technology but not at the expense of maintaining personal relationships.

Speaking at Bank of Ireland Lisburn Road’s breakfast morning as part of Bank of Ireland’s Enterprise Week events Professor Durkin (pictured) from the UBS Centre for SME Development, told attendees that “new technology naturally had a role in complementing personal networking but that we needed to be cautious that we didn’t let new technology displace the personal touch in how we do business.”

He continued: “Recent research we have conducted with our friends in the Federation of Small Businesses indicates that while trust in the financial services sector has declined in recent years levels of trust and satisfaction with the local bank branch has actually increased. Clearly there is a role for the local branch network”.

Lisburn Road Branch Manager Maggie Henry, said: ”Mark’s talk really spoke to the situation we find ourselves in here in the newly fitted out Lisburn Road branch. New self-service technology just installed allows customers the opportunity to improve the efficiency of their banking while also giving the staff more time to build personal relationships with those customers as they visit our new branch – we feel we have the optimal balance between efficiency and effectiveness to add value to our clients old and new!”