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By John CampbellBBC News NI Economics & Business Editor It came as the bank's parent group, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), confirmed losses of more than £8bn for 2013. Ulster Bank said its big loss reflected a one-off charge relating to bad property loans and that underlying performance was improving. There had been a "significant decrease" in operating loss, impairments charges and mortgage arrears, it said. The bank had an operating profit of £317m though that was wiped out by bad loan charges of almost £1.8bn. The bank said about £1bn of those charges related to the establishment of an internal bad bank which will run off property loans over a three-year period. Ulster Bank has also given details of the outcome of a review of its operations which has been aimed at finding "a sustainable business model". The bank said it would become more customer-focused and agile. Property crash Ulster is the largest bank in Northern Ireland and the third biggest in the Republic of Ireland. It suffered badly in the island-wide property crash and has been the worst-performing part of RBS in recent years. In a statement, RBS chief executive Ross McEwen said Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland would become more closely integrated with RBS's main UK business. He said there were "meaningful synergies in terms of investment, costs and customer experience from doing this". "It is essential if we are to provide a more appealing and compelling service to our customers in Northern Ireland under the Ulster Bank brand," he said. He said the bank was exploring "further opportunities" to transform its business in the Republic of Ireland with the aim of being a "compelling challenger" to AIB and Bank of Ireland. Mr McEwen said the bank would finalise its plans in the coming months and emphasised it was about a change in business strategy, not a withdrawal from the market. Mortgages The Dublin-based part of the bank has faced greater problems than the Northern Ireland division. It has had particular issues with domestic mortgages. A much higher percentage of customers in the Republic of Ireland are having trouble repaying their mortgages compared to Northern Ireland. It also has a very large number of customers on tracker mortgages, which are tied to the European Central Bank (ECB) base rate, often for the lifetime of the mortgage. With the rate at historically low levels, and unlikely to increase soon, it has caused problems. Trackers are mostly loss-making as the interest charged is less than the banks' cost of funding.
Ulster Bank has reported a loss of just under £1.5bn for 2013 which compares to a loss of £1bn in 2012.

Mr Durkan said the department of environment represented a "diverse portfolio" covering a wide spectrum of environmental and economic issues. He was elected to the assembly in 2011 and had been the party's social development spokesperson. Party leader Alasdair McDonnell said Mr Durkan represented "the emerging generation of the SDLP". "He has done an outstanding job as social development spokesperson, meticulously working through the welfare reform bill," he said. "The party look forward to seeing Mark follow on the excellent work of Alex Attwood who as environment minister has tackled the bureaucracy in our planning system by pursuing a progressive agenda. "Alex has also been a watchdog at the executive table, holding the first and deputy first minister to account over their failure to deliver on a shared future." Mr Durkan said the work done by the department of environment affected every citizen in Northern Ireland. "Whether that is in the form of local government, planning, natural and built heritage or road safety," he said. He said he would build on the hard work of his predecessor. "I will continue where he left off, ensuring planning works for citizens, tourism and the overall economy," he said. "Local government reform is well under way and I will drive the programme to ensure that we reach the goal of stronger, more efficient and more effective local government - local government which is focused on our citizens and responsive to local needs. "I will also be robust in my approach to protecting the built and natural environments which make Northern Ireland such a unique place to live. "This includes reducing the volume of waste going to landfill and also going after those who seek to damage our environment through waste crime." Mr Attwood had been environment minister since 2011. Mr Durkan is taking over the job on Tuesday.
Foyle assembly member Mark H Durkan is to replace his SDLP colleague Alex Attwood as environment minister.

The Hardmoors 55, in which 300 people ran over the North York Moors and Cleveland Hills on Saturday, was halted due to wintry conditions. Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team (CMRT) helped rescue more than 80 of the competitors at Kildale from 20:00 GMT. Several all-terrain vehicles were needed to carry out the rescue. More stories from across Yorkshire According to its website, the Hardmoors 55 takes runners along the Cleveland Way from Helmsley to Guisborough and contains over 2,000m (6,562 ft) of ascent. Participants are not allowed to complete unless they are carrying certain items of kit, including waterproof jacket, survival bag and an emergency food supply. 'Bad conditions' Pete Mounsey, from CMRT, said a number of competitors had already reached the finish when organisers decided to stop the race and call for assistance. He said 20 volunteers helped ferry runners from Kildale Village Hall to Guisborough. "There were between 80 and 100 at Kildale who needed moving to a place of safety," he said "It was very bad conditions when the organisers chose to end the race. "The wind was blowing snow across and it was very cold, with the wind chill it could have been around -8C." A spokeswoman for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it deployed six ambulances, a rapid response vehicle, an emergency care practitioner and a clinical supervisor. She said: "Patients were checked over at Kildale Village Hall and given foil blankets and warm drinks, but no-one needed hospital treatment." Mr Mounsey said: "People have commented to say the race should not have gone ahead but they all managed 45 miles and it was only the last couple of hours when the weather came in on them. "This was a well organised event and when the weather turned the organisers took the view to stop the race."

Thirty runners were treated for hypothermia in blizzard conditions during a 55-mile (88km) ultramarathon in North Yorkshire.

