AIB bank closure ‘yet another blow’

AIB bank closure ‘yet another blow’

21 July 2021

THE impending closure of the AIB branch in Newcastle will leave the town with no bank.

The Main Street branch is scheduled to close in early November which will leave customers and members of the resort’s business community with no dedicated banking services.

Local politicians have expressed concern at the planned closure which they have described as a “blow to the economy”, but the bank is defending the move.

The branch is one eight across Northern Ireland which is due to close on November 12 and follows what is being described as a “strategic review” which will reduce its branch network to just seven.

AIB said there has been a 33% reduction in the number of customers using branches, confirming that it will support staff with other opportunities where possible, with a voluntary severance programme available.

In addition, the bank said the closures were in part due to how consumers interact with banks, with digital payments rising 53% since the end of 2017.

AIB’s head of retail Brian Gillen, said it is operating in a “competitive and challenging landscape” and that the so-called ‘digital first’ customer transition, which has been an industry-wide trend over the past four years, has accelerated dramatically due to the Covid-19 pandemic as even more people adapted to online platforms.”

He continued: “These undeniable and irreversible trends have in turn influenced our strategy and led to the decision to close branches that are no longer sustainable. Our focus will be on minimising the impact for customers who continue to use the branch while also further improving online banking experiences.

“Our highly successful partnership with the Post Office will be expanded to include additional transactional services for business customers such as faster cash deposits.”

Mr Gillen said AIB wants to assure customers that it remains fully committed to them and to Northern Ireland, providing them with a full service personal and business banking offering alongside an enhanced focus on both business and mortgage lending.

The planned closure has been criticised by South Down MLAs Jim Wells and Colin McGrath and Mournes councillor Laura Devlin.

Mr Wells said the proposed closures of AIB branches in the resort and neighbouring Kilkeel were “yet another blow” to the economy of the Mourne area.

“South Down has lost over half of its bank branches in the past decade, leaving towns such as Rathfriland and Crossgar with no provision at all. There is an extremely worrying trend that when one bank announces a branch closure the others quickly follow suit and, if the present trend continues, all of the banks in South Down will have gone in another decade,” he said.

“The implications for older people and the business community are very serious and all public representatives must join forces to oppose these proposals.”

Mr Wells said he was particularly worried about the justification put forward by the AIB when it stated that there has been a significant rise in online banking during the lockdown. 

He added: “I have no doubt that is true, but customers were forced to do this due to public health concerns. They will want to return to their local branch when normality returns but will find the doors closed in November.”

Mr McGrath said while banks were private businesses and could make their own decisions, he was particularly unhappy with the latest closure announcement without any public consultation.

He confirmed that he will be contacting AIB to ascertain what plans it has in place for a replacement service and ensuring that customers will be kept fully informed.

Cllr Devlin said she and Mr McGrath hope to meet with AIB officials to discuss the closure announcement and explore the possibility of making a mobile banking service available to customers, similar to the one offered at Castle Park by Ulster Bank.

It is also understood that an emergency notice of motion to discuss AIB’s decision will be tabled at next month’s meeting of Newry, Mourne and Down Council.