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Bank of Ireland said it has made the decision to close 103 branches in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Branches that close are predominantly self-service locations that do not offer counter service, the Bank of Ireland said. The branches are scheduled to close at the end of September.
Bank of Ireland said it had entered into a new partnership with An Post that will offer Bank of Ireland customers banking services at more than 900 locations across Ireland.
This will include cash and check payments over the counter and cash withdrawals, with longer weekday opening hours than traditional bank branches, as well as Saturday openings.
He said that all Bank of Ireland branches that close have a post office within, on average, less than 500 meters.
In publishing its annual results for 2020, Bank of Ireland said that customer preferences continue to evolve and that its significant investment in transformation in recent years has improved its technology infrastructure, digital offering and customer engagement.
“At the same time, we have seen a sustained decrease in the use of our branches,” he said.
“Our customers tell us that they expect branch visits to be further reduced as they move away from cash towards digital and contactless payments.”
The bank said it is adapting to these clear changes in behavior while working towards a modern, sustainable and long-term banking system.
“Accordingly, after an extensive review of our network, we have made the decision to close 103 branches in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland,” he said.
“We will continue to operate 182 branches across the island of Ireland. The branches will be an integral part of the Group’s strategy to combine physical and digital services to meet the changing needs of our customers,” he added.
Bank of Ireland also today reported an underlying loss before tax of € 374 million for the year to the end of December.
Its net interest income of € 2.1 billion was 2% lower than in 2019 due to lower new loan volumes and the continued impact of lower interest rates.
The bank said its market share for new home loans in Ireland averaged 25.5% in 2020, representing a 2% increase in market share for the year.
Bank of Ireland said its outlook continues to be affected by Covid-19, adding that its total income for 2021 is expected to be broadly in line with 2020 reflecting lower net interest income, higher business income supported by its wealth and insurance business. and a lower charge. for valuation items.
Costs will continue to fall with 2021 costs down to less than 1.65 billion euros and a new 2023 cost target of 1.5 billion euros, it added.
Bank of Ireland today noted that its mobile app is its most popular way of banking, with nearly half a million customer logins every day and a one-third increase in traffic in the past two years.
He said seven out of ten personal customer product applications are done digitally, and he expects this to grow to more than eight out of ten by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, the number of people visiting branches has dropped dramatically, and is now just over half of what it was in 2017. The influx at branches that are closing has dropped further, by more than 60% since 2017, the bank added.
Francesca McDonagh, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Ireland, said 2020 was an exceptionally challenging year for the bank.
The CEO said the Bank of Ireland’s focus was to support its clients through each stage of the Covid-19 crisis while continuing to develop its strategy.
“When Covid-19 arrived, we radically changed the way we operate in order to provide the services our clients needed, including interruptions in the payment of mortgages and commercial loans. Our speed of response was made possible by the investments we have made to transform our culture, systems and business model, “McDonagh said.
He also said the bank managed to increase its market share in Irish mortgages and SME loans, made good progress in reshaping its UK business and further reduced costs.
“Today, we are setting our plans to go further, with a new cost target for 2023,” said the CEO.
“For many years, the trend towards digital banking has been evident, with customers using fewer and fewer branches. Covid-19 has accelerated this changing behavior and we have seen a sea change towards digital banking in the last 12 months,” he said Francesca. McDonagh said.
“We have now reached a turning point in customer preferences between online and offline banking. That is why we have also announced changes to our branch network in Ireland and Northern Ireland today, while protecting access. to local banking services through a new agreement with An Publicar, “he added.
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