The
commemorative bank note, celebrating one of Northern
Ireland’s and the world’s best known sporting
personalities, will feature images of George Best in
both his Northern Ireland and Manchester United strips.
The unique five-pound notes will be made available
for fans through Ulster Bank branches across Northern
Ireland and by mail order for fans in the Republic
of Ireland, Great Britain and further afield.
Ulster
Bank Group CEO, Cormac McCarthy, was joined by members
of the Best family and representatives of the George
Best Foundation, Dickie Best and Barbara McNarry, to
unveil the finalised artwork for the bank note.
Speaking
at the unveiling, Cormac McCarthy, Ulster Bank Group
CEO said,
“At
the outset of this project we wanted to ensure that,
in celebrating the life of this legendary footballer,
we paid fitting tribute to his contribution to football
in Northern Ireland and beyond. We wanted to make it
possible for fans throughout Northern Ireland and further
afield to own their very own piece of unique George
Best memorabilia. By selecting the most affordable
note denomination, five pounds, we have tried to make
the notes as widely accessible as possible.”
He added, “This
is the first time that Ulster Bank has commissioned a
commemorative bank note and by limiting the print run
to a million notes we feel this makes the initiative
even more significant.”
In keeping
with Ulster Bank Group’s ongoing community investment
programme a donation is also being made to the George
Best Foundation to support the promotion of cross-community
contact through participation in football.
Commenting
on the launch of the note, Barbara McNarry, George
Best’s sister and company secretary of the George
Best Foundation said, “When Ulster Bank
approached us with the idea of creating a commemorative
bank note we had no hesitation in supporting the project.
The unique tribute to George and the fact that so many
people will be able to “own” this special
memento is a welcome and fitting accolade at this particularly
poignant time.” She added, “We also welcome
the ongoing support and generous donation from Ulster
Bank Group to the work undertaken by the Foundation
in the promotion of healthy living through participation
in sport.”
The
five-pound George Best notes will be available from
mid-November coinciding with the first anniversary
of his death. Application
forms will be available from Ulster Bank branches in
Northern Ireland & Republic of Ireland or on-line
at www.georgebestfive.com /
.co.uk from 13 November. The commemorative
notes will then be available to purchase at any Ulster
Bank branch in Northern Ireland from the 27 November.
About
Ulster Bank Group
Ulster
Bank Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Royal
Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group, one of the world's largest
banking groups. RBS employs 145,000 people of
which 6,380 work for the Ulster Bank Group.
Following
the acquisition of First Active in January 2004, and
together with Ulster Bank, the enlarged Ulster Bank
Group consists of 272 branches, 32 Business Centres,
more than 1.7 million customers and over 1000 ATM’s.
Ulster
Bank Group received an 02 ability Award in February
2006 for the second year running. This was awarded
for demonstrating innovative best practice in the employment
of people with disabilities.* On Sept. 26, 2005, Standard & Poor’s
Ratings Services raised its long-term counterparty
credit rating on U.K.-incorporated Ulster Bank Ltd.
(UBL) and its subsidiary, Republic of Ireland-incorporated
Ulster Bank Ireland Ltd. (UBIL), to ‘AA’ from ‘AA-’.
In addition Standard & Poor’s affirmed its ‘A-1+’ short-term
ratings on the bank.**
For
more information, visit http://www.ulsterbank.com.
*The
O2 ability award programme has been designed and created
by the Aisling Foundation and organised in partnership
with access ability. It is the very first Irish
business award for the best practice in the employment
of people with disabilities.
***The
upgrade reflects the increasing interdependence of
UBL with its ultimate parent, The Royal Bank of Scotland
Group PLC (RBSG; AA-/Stable/A-1+; main operating companies
are rated AA/Stable/A-1+). This is most apparent in
the migration of UBL onto RBSG’s manufacturing
platform, a process that is now well under way. |
