The Bank of Ireland is to shut a third of its branches as it reaches a digital “tipping point” between online and offline transactions.
The move is expected to generate €26 billion in annualised cost savings.
Francesca McDonagh, Bank of Ireland CEO, says: 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. We’ve now reached a tipping point in customer preferences between online and offline banking.”
She says 70% of customers are now digitally active, with a 26% increase in customers registering for the new mobile app since launch.
The branch closure programme comes as part of a new three-year strategy to trim costs by €1.5 billion, entailing a reduction in 1400 full time roles achieved through voluntary redundancies. Up to 200 jobs will be impacted by the branch takedowns, which will mostly hit umanned outlets.