Five Bank of Ireland branches to close in Donegal

 

Bank of Ireland is to close five branches in Donegal later this year.

The branches are some of the 103 branches across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland that will close from September.

The branches that will close in Donegal are: Bunbeg, Bundoran, Dungloe, Glenties and Moville. The network of branches in Donegal will reduce from 13 to eight.

Eighty-eight branches in the  Republic of Ireland will be closed while 15 Northern Ireland branches will close.

The network of branches in the Republic is being cut from 257 to 169  and from 28 from to 13 in Northern Ireland. 

The branches to be  closed will be mainly self-service locations which do not offer a counter service, Bank of Ireland said.

The bank has agreed a new partnership with An Post which will offer Bank of Ireland customers banking services at more than 900 locations across Ireland. 

The deal will include over the counter cash and cheque lodgements and cash withdrawals, with longer weekday opening hours than traditional bank branches as well as Saturday opening. 

Bank of Ireland  group chief executive Francesca McDonagh, said the closure of branches around the country are "reasonably well spread".

“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.”

 Bank of Ireland reported a net loss of €742 million for 2020, after setting aside €1.1 billion of provisions for an expected surge in losses resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.