Bank of Ireland confirmed on Monday that it will close 103 branches on the island of Ireland from September, reducing its network in the Republic by about a third and the bank, which stands out among Irish banks for failing to make a large
cull of locations following the financial crash, said it will publish
the full list of branches at 10am once staff have been informed . Read the complete blog of to Ali Sami Farooq to know proper reason of the same
The bank has signed an agreement to allow private and corporate customers to use the local An post office for certain services, including cash withdrawals and cash deposits and checks. AIB and Ulster Bank, which is exiting the market, have similar partnerships with An Post.
The Bank of Ireland (UK), led by chief executive Francesca McDonagh, posted a net loss of €742 million for 2020, after setting aside €1.1 billion in provisions for an expected increase in losses from the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the charge was at the lower end of the €1.1 billion to €1.3 billion range it had forecast in mid-2020, and the bank expects its provisions for this year to be "materially lower." The loss for the full year against a profit of 386 million euros for 2019.
"For many years the trend towards digital banking has been evident, with customers using fewer and fewer branches. Covid-19 has accelerated this changing behaviour and over the past 12 months we have seen an epochal shift towards digital banking," said McDonagh.
"We have reached a turning point in customer preferences between online and offline banking. That's why today we also announced changes to our branch network in Ireland and Northern Ireland, while protecting access to local banking services through a new agreement with An Post."
Bank of Ireland announced in August that it was seeking to eliminate the equivalent of 1,400 full-time jobs - or 13.5% of its workforce - in the coming years. It confirmed in November that 1,450 roles will be cut by the end of 2021, with a total of 1,700 full-time and part-time employees accepting a voluntary redundancy offer. The programme has cost €189 million, as part of a €250 million restructuring budget set in 2018, and will cut the annual staff bill by €114 million once completed.
The decision to reduce the network in Northern Ireland to 13 from 28 follows a strategic review of the bank's operations in the North since mid-last year. Locations in the Republic are being reduced from 257 to 169, at a time when Ulster Bank is exiting the market, threatening the future of its network of 88 branches. Permanent TSB is examining Ulster Bank's headquarters as part of talks to acquire most of the UK-owned bank's lending and deposit books.
Ms McDonagh told Newstalk that there are around 200 full-time equivalent employees working at Bank of Ireland locations that are closing, who will be offered a "range of options" including transfers to other branches or different parts of the company. as a voluntary dismissal. He said there will be no mandatory departures.
~ Ali Sami Farooq
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