Bank of Ireland has confirmed it is closing 103 branches on the island of Ireland, reducing its network in the Republic by about a third and its locations in the North by more than half, as Covid-19 has accelerated a shift in the industry towards digital banking.
The Waterford branches identified by Bank of Ireland for closure are in Ardkeen, Kilmacthomas and Lismore.
Bank of Ireland, led by chief executive Francesca McDonagh, reported an underlying loss of €374 million for 2020, after setting aside €1.1 billion of provisions for an expected surge in losses resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The charge was at the lower end of the €1.1 billion to €1.3 billion range it had predicted in the middle of 2020, and the bank forecast that its provisions for this year will be “materially lower”.
“For many years, the trend to digital banking has been evident, with customers using branches less and less. Covid-19 has accelerated this changing behaviour, and we’ve seen a seismic shift towards digital banking over the past 12 months,” Ms McDonagh said.
“We’ve now reached a tipping point in customer preferences between online and offline banking. That’s why we’ve also announced changes to our branch network in Ireland and Northern Ireland today, while protecting access to local banking services though a new arrangement with An Post.”
Workforce plan
Bank of Ireland announced in August that it was seeking to eliminate the equivalent of 1,400 full-time jobs – or 13.5 per cent 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- and part-time staff taking up a voluntary-redundancy offer.
The programme has cost €189 million, within a €250 million restructuring budget set in 2018 and will cut its annual staff bill by €114 million when completed.
