Hold To Account

By Colman Rushe

Peter Howard, a soon-to-retire bank manager in a large Irish town during the Celtic Tiger, is asked to temporarily take over the job of Joan Archer, a colleague who has been suspended from duty without explanation. Peter deals with the impact on the staff, the self-serving attitude of Joan’s customers and the trauma caused to her family. His enthusiasm for the role is gradually eroded as he contends with the bank’s flawed procedures and the inefficiency of self-regulation. As a web of tax evasion, money laundering and property speculation is revealed, Peter unwittingly becomes enmeshed in a situation which endangers his own job and reputation while we encounter a banking system which contains the seeds of its own inevitable collapse.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Colman Rushe
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310581533

Colman Rushe

Colman Rushe grew up in the west of Ireland where he was encouraged to read voraciously by his parents. Having spent his working life in Ireland, he took early retirement from a career in banking and moved with his wife to live on the south coast of Spain. He spends his time writing, reading, walking, playing music, researching family history and eating tapas with his wife. He caught the writing bug when compiling a family history and then attended a creative writing course at the Irish Writers' Centre in Dublin. He has since written two suspense novels and a memoir. He is working on a historical novel.Colman's music can be streamed or downloaded from Bandcamp. https://colmanrushe.bandcamp.com/releases

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HOLD TO ACCOUNT

by Colman Rushe

Published by Colman Rushe at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Colman Rushe

Author website: http://colmanrushe.wordpress.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

CHAPTER 1 - Friday March 19

When he thought about it later, Peter Howard wasn't sure what caused him to drive on rather than turn into the car park. He had slowed his car and flicked the indicator to signal that he was about to turn right when he spotted Joan Archer and Jim Stuart standing outside the rear door of the bank building. Normally, he would have parked nearby, greeted them cheerfully and joined in their conversation. But something seemed wrong. They were standing farther apart than seemed normal. It appeared that Joan was leaving but had stopped to ask or answer a question. She was wearing her coat as if she was finished work for the day but Peter expected her to be present at the meeting to which he had been summoned. What was going on?

In any event, Peter instinctively sensed tension in the encounter and drove past the car park entrance. Almost immediately, he felt sheepish about his reaction but had to continue to the shopping centre to safely do a u-turn in the heavy traffic. By the time he got back to the car park at the rear of the bank, he was relieved to note that both Joan and JIm were not in sight. However, the event had done nothing to mitigate the apprehension which he had felt since the earlier telephone call.

The bank building faced Green Street, a busy thoroughfare where many of the prime retail outlets in the town centre were located. Behind the building was the public parking area which was used by the customers and staff of the various business premises along the street. The bank, in common with many other buildings, had a rear entrance which provided access to the car park.

Peter left his car and approached the rear door of the bank branch. The car park was quite busy and a number of Friday afternoon shoppers were in the area.

'Peter!'

He assumed that the he was being greeted by a bank customer and he looked around but didn't see anybody he recognised. Also, nobody seemed to be looking at him. He walked on.

'Peter! Over here!'

Joan had partly concealed herself in a narrow passageway between two buildings. Peter was taken aback by her appearance. Her normal aura of confidence had vanished and she looked shocked and disoriented. She glanced anxiously behind Peter towards the car park.

'Step in here,' she said. 'We shouldn't be seen talking.'

'What is going on? What's the matter?'

'I've just been suspended. I'm under investigation.'

'Under investigation? For what?'

'Look, Peter. I shouldn't be talking to you. They've suspended me but they won't tell me why. If you can, will you phone me later and let me know what's going on? Don't get yourself into trouble - I'll understand if you can't contact me but anything you can do…'

Her voice trailed off. She seemed confused and bewildered. Peter was dumbfounded at the change in Joan and his immediate reaction was one of sympathy and concern. He also felt a loyalty and empathy which somewhat surprised him.

'Peter. You should go.'

'Look, Joan. I promise I'll contact you later. In the meantime, phone home and talk to Rob. I'd better go inside. I'll call you.'

'If you can… please.'

Her face betrayed her doubts about whether Peter would contact her if, as she expected, he was instructed not to. Peter tended to do things 'by the book' whereas Joan would favour a more cavalier style. Indeed, this was one of the areas which had caused tension between them in the past.

'Don't worry, Joan. I'll call you later.'

Before Peter could say anything else, Joan turned and walked briskly along the passageway towards the main shopping street.

***

He had been weeding the flower beds when the call came. Peter Howard liked gardening, especially the part that involved getting his hands dirty. As a child, he detested weeding and hated when his father directed him and his brother to the long rows of vegetables which seemed to constantly require attention. The brothers dreamed of finishing school and getting away to find jobs and make new lives where they would have money jingling in their pockets and would never again have to do something as mundane and boring as weeding. Yet, here he was, forty years later, a soon-to-retire, happily married bank manager, having achieved personal and financial security, and he had recently discovered the joy of getting mud on his hands. His father would have laughed.

'Peter! Telephone!' his wife called as she approached him brandishing the hands-free phone.

'Who is it? Is it one of the girls'

Their two daughters usually phoned before the weekend. He straightened up with the deliberate movement that his fifty-five year old frame allowed.

'No. It's work' Kate explained

His first reaction was annoyance. He avoided giving his home number to customers and did not encourage calls from his people in the office. During his earlier years in banking, he developed a dislike for managers who expected to be contacted if a problem arose in the office while they were absent. This strategy tended to result in the next line of management lacking the ability and confidence to make their own decisions. Peter expected his own senior people to deal with any problem in the confidence that he would support their decision fully upon his return.

Kate recognised the shadow of annoyance which crossed his face.

'Not your office', she added, handing him the phone. 'It's the Divisional Office. Lucy Hughes.'

What can Lucy want ? Doesn't she know he is on a week's holiday? Probably some social function she wants him to attend because nobody in the Divisional Office is available or, more likely, can be bothered to go.

'Hello, Lucy. Would you like to join me for a bit of gardening?'

Peter instantly regretted his feeble attempt at humour when Lucy bypassed the usual small-talk and adopted a formal tone.

'Peter. Thanks for taking my call. I'm ringing on behalf of Jim Stuart. He would like you to call in to the branch to meet him. We appreciate that this is inconvenient but it is quite urgent. How soon could you get here?'

'Lucy, what's going on? Is there a problem?'

'It shouldn't take too long. Perhaps a half hour.'

'Can you speak freely? Is someone there with you? Can you say who will be at the meeting?'

'Great, Peter! I'm sure a meeting in about twenty minutes time would be ideal.'

'Ok, Lucy. One question. Can you say if the meeting relates to the Compliance Inspection or to me personally?'

'I'm sure that will be fine. Thanks for being so understanding. Jim Stuart will meet you in the branch in about twenty minutes. In Joan's office. Ok? Bye.'

What the hell was going on? Did something arise in the Compliance Inspection which was of sufficient gravity to necessitate a hastily convened meeting? It was clear that Lucy was conscious of being overheard when she made the call. The presence of her boss, Jim Stuart, would not normally have inhibited her so Peter concluded that someone else was present. Possible Tom Judge, the Head of the Compliance Inspection team? If so, something serious was afoot. Hold on! No point in getting paranoid. This was only the latest in a long series of disruptions which had followed one another recently.

***

A few months previously, Peter was manager of one of the two branches of his bank situated in the large north-eastern town. The other branch, which was managed by Joan Archer, was the more profitable of the two and fighting hard to remain in the pole position. Naturally, there was competition between the two branches. Peter and Joan described it as a healthy rivalry which, they felt, contributed strongly to the good performance and the growing market share of their bank in the region. They had worked together in the same office in the past and, although they had different strengths, they respected and sometimes envied each others management styles.

Joan had made her name as a salesperson. She could sniff out a potential selling opportunity and, more importantly, close a sale as efficiently as anybody whom Peter had encountered. Critics of her management style would say that she had no time for anybody in the branch who was not directly contributing to this sales focus. She tended to select one or two people who showed a talent for selling and she encouraged and supported them. The rest of the staff, her critics claimed, were of little interest to her so long as they did their jobs.

This criticism, which usually came from disgruntled 'non-sellers', was somewhat unfair. She did give preference to one or two people who demonstrated good selling skills but she would support all her team and defend them from criticism from outside. Indeed, part of her management strategy was to bring her staff together by creating a siege mentality.

'Head Office and especially the Divisional Office are not supporting us and will close one of the branches in town if they get a chance.'

Peter Howard's approach to management was more conciliatory. This was not due to any virtue on his part but acknowledged the reality that he was not a natural sales person. He had spent most of his banking career as a lender and had inherited the caution and conservative disposition which was traditionally associated with that area of banking. However, his main skill was in team building and managing his staff. He liked people and tried to deal with them honestly and fairly. People responded very positively to his style of management and, more importantly, they were anxious to please him.

'If a job is worth doing, then it's worth doing well and trying to have some fun while we're doing it,' he would say. He fostered a friendly and welcoming atmosphere in the office and found that this had benefits for both workers and customers.

Peter was willing to accept differing levels of performance from individual members of his staff depending on their skills and aptitude. He saw little point in demanding a high volume of sales from someone who was uncomfortable in this area and who was likely to lie awake at night worrying about targets. He would settle for a more modest level of sales but the individual would be assigned duties in other areas. Staff members who showed an aptitude for selling were encouraged by relieving them of the more mundane or routine banking duties. Joan would probably think that this was a 'cop out' on Peter's part and would hold the view that he was avoiding a confrontation with a weak performer.

An analysis of the performances of the two branches would recognise the differing management styles. The branches produced similar levels of profitability and sales but the profiles varies significantly. Each week, Peter's branch produced a large number of sales from about twelve people. Joan's branch produced a smaller number of deals from three or four people but the transactions were of much higher individual value. In fact, Joan herself produced the highest sales level in the branch.

Head Office in Dublin were satisfied to have two branches performing very well and exceeding targets. However, change was taking place in Irish banking. The big banks were the product of mergers which took place in the early 1970s. As a result, it was not uncommon for one bank to have a few branches in one town. Some outlets had been closed but the growing volume of customers necessitated the retention of many branches which were located quite close together. The introduction of online banking, however, reduced the need for branch visits by customers. A policy decision was made to close as many outlets as possible by merging closely located outlets.

Peter and Joan hoped that their branches would be excluded from the amalgamation policy. Most large towns had two branches but one outlet was usually much larger and more successful than the other. The closure of the smaller branch was easy to justify. However, Peter and Joan were quick to point out that the local town had supported two equally large branches and the inter-branch competitiveness was having very positive results for the bank. They argued that the continuation of both branches was justified by past performance and that neither building had the capacity to accommodate all the staff and customers. But the policy makers seemed to be convinced that any exception would lead to even more problems with their nation-wide implementation strategy and they decided to push ahead.

Joan Archer had been a very successful branch manager for much longer than Peter and they both knew that she would be appointed as manager of the merged branch. The fact that the combined branch was to be located in Green Street, the branch currently managed by Joan, also made sense of the appointment.

Peter had the option of working with Joan or of moving as manager to another branch when one became available. Joan very much wanted him to remain. He delayed making a decision but gradually realised that he was suffering from stress arising from the pressures associated with the amalgamation together with his disillusionment with the decision. After much thought, Peter decided to take advantage of the early retirement option which was available to people who were impacted by the branch amalgamation programme. He agreed to Jim Stuart's request that, before retiring, he would remain in the new branch for one year in order to assist with the integration of staff and customers.

***

Peter's mind was racing as he hurriedly showered and changed out of his gardening clothes. He reassured Kate that the there was no reason to be concerned about the arrangement of a meeting at such short notice.

'Probably something the Compliance Inspectors want to clarify before the weekend. They have their team meeting in Dublin on Monday mornings.'

She didn't appear convinced but she let it go.

'Phone me as soon as you can.'

'Will do. See you later.'

'Good luck. Don't forget to call me.'

***

The Friday afternoon traffic was already beginning to build up as he turned into the Dublin Road on his ten minute journey to the office. As he queued at the traffic lights, the first opportunity to pause and think since the phone call, he realised that he was becoming quite stressed. He had tried to downplay to Kate the significance of the sudden summons but he recognised that she knew him well enough to realise that he was perturbed. He knew that something significant was afoot. Jim Stuart was not one to act impulsively. Indeed, one of the frustrations of dealing with him was his reluctance to make a decision without reverting to Head Office for approval.

Peter surmised that the Compliance Inspection could have unearthed some irregularity at the branch which required discussion. But surely, a meeting involving Joan should have been sufficient? After all, Peter was to retire in a year but Joan would remain in charge of the branch.

He smiled ruefully when he anticipated Joan's likely reaction. She had been furious when the inspection team arrived three weeks ago. There was an agreement that a three month 'visit-free window period' would be allowed to give merged branches time to 'consolidate'. But three weeks after the branches had amalgamated, the inspectors had walked in.

Joan had demanded an immediate meeting with Jim Stuart and asked Peter to accompany her. His view was that the inspection team was very unlikely to withdraw now and indeed, he felt that it might be beneficial to get a compliance report at this early stage.

'No point in letting us get into bad habits' said Peter. 'Maybe it would be better if they put us on the right path.'

'I don't disagree,' said Joan. 'However, I'll make Jim Stuart sweat first. I'll read the riot act. Then you can be more reasonable and I'll agree to go along with you.'

The meeting was attended by Tom Judge, who was in charge of the Inspection team. Jim and Tom blamed the timing on a breakdown in communication between the Compliance Department and the Branch Amalgamation Implementation Department. Tom promised that his team would be as discreet, tactful and cooperative as possible and suggested that he would liaise closely with Peter to facilitate this. Joan told Jim Stuart that she felt let down by the timing of the visit and felt that the continuance of the inspection was just another example of the lack of support for her branch. Peter expressed his concern that he had promised the staff that this would not occur and that his credibility was being undermined. In response, Jim Stuart offered to address the staff to point out that the promise was given in good faith and that the blame lay with Head Office. Joan was not going to be placated.

'Jim. You would be lynched if you stood up in front of the staff after this. Leave it to us. As usual, we'll have to clean up the mess.'

That was three weeks ago. Peter had arranged to take his usual week of leave for spring gardening. He thought about postponing his break but the first two weeks of the inspection had gone ahead without any significant issue being raised. He presumed that the worst was over and he took his week off.

The traffic was moving again as Peter's thoughts turned to his own situation. What if the inspection team had uncovered some wrongdoing on his part? The team were looking at records for both branches in the period before the merger. Could they have unearthed some irregularity relating to his branch ? This could explain the call to an urgent meeting. He reassured himself that he had not done anything wrong. Almost immediately, he began to have second thoughts. Nobody who worked in Irish banking during the latter decades of the century can say that their hands are completely clean. Issues involving the facilitation of tax evasion by customers had come into the public domain and had been the subject of investigation by the state. Heavy financial penalties were levied and the reputation of banking in Ireland had been damaged.

Compliance with external laws and internal regulations became a much more important issue with his bank after this. Peter was satisfied that he had followed all rules and had tried to ensure that his staff did also. However, was it possible that one of his staff had been involved in some wrongdoing?

He drove by his former branch on Water Street. The building, which dated from the 1880s, was now unused and had been bought by a property developer. It was one of the most imposing facades in the town and Peter very much regretted closing the door on the last day of banking business. However, he took some consolation from the fact that it was a listed so that the granite exterior and much of its interior would be preserved.

Peter now turned his car towards the large public parking area at the rear of the Green Street branch. But as he was about to swing into the car park, he paused to allow another driver make his exit. It was then that he saw Jim Stuart and Joan at the rear door of the branch.

***

After meeting Joan, Peter approached the back door of the branch. The bank was closed for business by now but Peter knew that the staff would be working for at least another hour. Friday was one of the busiest days in branch banking and all efforts would be focused on getting the work finished and departing for the weekend. Any disruption would not be welcomed.

He was about to use his key to open the door as usual when he remembered that the Compliance Inspection was still going on. As a security precaution, he would be expected to ring the doorbell and wait for Jim McArdle, the porter, to admit him having ensured that he was alone by observing him through the peep-hole. Normally, Peter would have used his own key but he pressed the bell. After a minute, the door was unlocked.

'Thanks, Jim. Sorry for taking you away from your work.'

'No problem,' Jim McArdle said loudly. 'You couldn't stay away from us.' Then he dropped his voice. 'There seems to be something going on. There's a meeting of some kind upstairs. The senior people were all called up. I think Joan is in the Divisional Office.'

'I was asked to come in', said Peter. 'I don't know why.'

As he entered the main customer banking area, he was greeted by Jill Kernan who was behind the customer reception desk.

'I thought that nothing else could go wrong and spoil my weekend but here you are. You are supposed to be on holiday. Piss off back home!'

Jill never failed to brighten his day. She was probably the best and most reliable worker among the forty seven staff in the branch and combined this with a withering sense of humour.

'I was asked to call in to deal with a problem,' said Peter. 'I'm sure your name will crop up sooner rather than later as the instigator of some malicious deed. Have you been using your wiles on the Compliance Inspectors?'

She laughed.

'Tell them to hurry up with their meeting. I have a life outside this office unlike some people!'

Peter took the stairs. He usually avoided the lift in a vain attempt to get some exercise and to keep his weight in check. The first floor comprised offices for the people dealing with business lending together with the large office occupied by Joan. Peter had an office nearby but it was being used by the inspection team for now. He noticed that the lenders' offices were unoccupied and he went to Joan's office as Lucy Hughes had requested in her phone call.

He expected to be met by the Divisional Manager or the Compliance Inspector but Jim Stuart or Tom Judge were not present. Instead, he was greeted by Lucy Hughes. She was standing beside Joan's desk and seated opposite her were the senior staff of the branch. Brenda Ryan, who had charge of office administration smiled at Peter with a mixture of welcome, relief and confusion. She was flanked by Larry Kilkenny and Mike Lamb.

Peter turned to Lucy.

'Lucy. What's going on?'

'Sorry for the drama, Peter. Jim Stuart will be here in a few minutes to talk to all of you. I'm sure he would want me to apologise for the delay.'

Larry Kilkenny, glanced at Peter and threw his eyes towards the ceiling.

'I have a stack of lending proposals on my desk. I hope he won't take too long.'

Larry, who was a few years older than Peter, liked to demonstrate his independence and he was not overly impressed by Jim Stuart or by Lucy. He regarded people who worked in District or Head Office as political animals who had little real regard or respect for the staff 'at the coal-face'. His face betrayed the tension he was feeling and, when under pressure, his normal response was to blame what he called 'the system'.

'This is being called to the headmaster's office,' Larry added. 'Except that, in school, you would know why you were in trouble.'

'Leave it, Larry,' muttered Mike Lamb.

Mike was quite a few years younger than Larry and still harboured the ambition for advancement and promotion which Larry had grudgingly left behind. He looked even more concerned and apprehensive than either Larry or Brenda.

'What's going on?' Mike said quietly as Peter eased into the chair beside him. His plea and confusion had the effect of suddenly changing Peter's mood from concern to anger. Why were people being put under pressure in this way? Larry was right - they were being treated like children. But their discomfort was minimal when compared to that of Joan who was removed from her office without explanation. Of course, Peter was not supposed to know this and he must ensure not to disclose that he has spoken to Joan. This would land her in even more trouble. He quickly brought his anger under control and tried to bring some comfort to Mike.

'I'm sure that you would already know if you were in trouble. We are all here together. Nobody is being singled out.'

'Is Joan with Jim Stuart?' asked Larry. 'I assume she'll be here.'

Lucy hesitated.

'Let's wait until Jim arrives…ah, here he comes!' she added with relief.

Jim Stuart was in his mid forties and people usually remarked that he looked much younger. However, today he appeared drawn and under pressure. He adopted a cheerful attitude but his high colour betrayed the tension he clearly felt.

'Sorry, everybody, for the delay. It won't take much longer. Peter, could I have a word with you first of all?'

He pointed to a vacant adjoining office.

'Oh, fuck!' muttered Mike Lamb, sympathetically.

***

Later, when reviewing what had happened, Peter realised that, were it not for his chance meeting with Joan, he would have been a nervous wreck at this stage. However, his prior knowledge that the problem centred around Joan served to calm him. His air of relative confidence also seemed to give some comfort to his colleagues who were now waiting in Joan's office.

Jim seated himself in the room next door and pointed to the empty chair. Peter closed the door and sat down.

'You look terrible, Jim. What's the problem?'

Jim looked very uncomfortable and pointed to his notepad on the desk before him.

'I need to do this formally,' he said.

He started to read…

'Following discussions between my office, the Compliance Department and line management, Joan Archer has been temporarily relieved of her duties and has been placed on paid leave pending completion of an investigation. Until the situation is resolved, she has been instructed not to have any contact with staff or customers. Also, staff will be instructed not to have any contact with her.'

Peter realised that Jim had been instructed, perhaps by the legal department, on what he should say. The bank would be anxious to avoid any unnecessary publicity and would also want to appear to be as fair as possible to Joan. However, Jim Stuart's need to read the statement to Peter seemed to reflect his own lack of confidence rather than any legal requirement.

Jim continued.

'I now formally ask you whether you will be willing to undertake the duties of branch manager on a temporary basis until the investigation is concluded and the situation resolved.'

He looked enquiringly at Peter.

'Jim. I realise that you may be limited in what you can say to me. However, can you tell me whether anybody else on the staff is also the subject of the investigation?'

'Peter, you are not under any suspicion or investigation. If there was any prospect that you would be involved, I would not be asking you to take over temporarily. At this stage, no other member of staff at the branch is under scrutiny and it is not expected that this situation will change. However, we will have to wait and see what the investigation reveals. I need you to confirm that you are willing to take over temporarily under these conditions.'

'Yes. Of course. I will do so.'

The relief on Jim's face was startling. He needed somebody to steer the staff and customers through a difficult situation and was lucky to have someone who was familiar with both. Otherwise, somebody from another branch would have to be parachuted in with attendant complications.

Jim resumed reading…

'All reasonable efforts must be made not to cause concern among customers. We