The uncertainty surrounding Ulster Bank's future had dissipated with the acquisition of its former parent, NatWest, by the Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank's chairman said yesterday.

At the official opening of the bank's £26 million sterling (€43.25 million) head office in Belfast, Sir George Quigley said he could not have wished for a better outcome from the acquisition. But he strongly criticised NatWest's conduct.

He found NatWest's decision to sever a highly advantageous connection lasting 82 years very disappointing and he would have hated to see Ulster Bank sold off to a competitor and dismembered.

"It seemed to me to be the commercial equivalent of apoteenophilia - a rare psychological condition relating to body dysmorphic disorder, where the victims believe that they will be normal only once a perfectly healthy limb has been amputated," he said.

Sir George said banks in Britain were in the line of fire following the publication of the Cruickshank Report on banking, which had raised serious issues and deserved serious debate. But he said it was important to avoid the assumptions that the report necessarily spoke uniformly to all situations.

On his first visit to Northern Ireland as chairman of Ulster Bank's parent company, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Viscount Younger said he was keen to stress the interest of developing a closer working relationship. "Ulster Bank gives us a potent presence in Ireland, North and South, and we are looking forward to providing as much support as possible to ensure Ulster Bank continues to provide customers in Ireland with a first-class service and a range of competitive and innovative products."