Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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276. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of retail bank branch closures per year since 2010, disaggregated by bank, year and county location. [12675/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, banks are required to notify the Central Bank when they intend to close, merge or move a branch. The Central Bank has informed my officials that its focus regarding branch closures is to ensure that banks adhere to the relevant requirements in the Consumer Protection Code 2012 (the Code) and how banks communicate the closures to their customers.

Banks must ensure that they communicate in a clear and timely way with customers regarding any such changes, including the closure of branches, and in particular inform them about any alternative channels available to them to avail of banking services. Banks must also provide affected vulnerable customers with the assistance necessary to ensure that those customers can retain full access to basic financial services, albeit in many cases at another branch location.

The Code sets out important requirements to ensure that consumers are fully informed of any closures or changes in services, and have time to make alternative arrangements. Under the Code, any bank that intends to close, merge or move a branch must:

- notify the Central Bank immediately;

- provide at least two months’ notice to affected consumers to enable them to make alternative arrangements;

- ensure all business of the branch is properly completed prior to its closure, merger or move, or alternatively inform the consumer of how continuity of service will be provided; and

- notify the wider community of the closure, merger or move in the local press in advance.

When notification is received in accordance with Provision 3.12, the Central Bank engages with the banks to ensure the impact of the decision has been carefully considered across its full customer base and at the appropriate levels. The bank must ensure that its communications to customers are clear and transparent and that it seeks to assist vulnerable customers to mitigate the effect of the branch closure as much as possible.

While decisions relating to the business model of regulated firms are commercial matters for the boards of those firms, the Central Bank expects them to take a consumer-focused approach in respect of any decision that affects their customers. Any decision by a board to close bank branches must be supported by an analysis and understanding of the impact the decision will have across its customer base.

I am advised by the Central Bank that there is no requirement for it to maintain a register of branch closures per year or by county. Accordingly, it does not have a breakdown by county location but it has sourced the following information.

Data on Branch Closures 2010 – 2020

The below table provides the total number of branches closed permanently each year by the five main retail banks from 2010 to 2020 inclusive. It is important to note that this data does not include any branches that were closed in this time period, by banks who have exited the market.

*Note: The figures were provided by the five main retail banks (AIB Group, BOI, KBC, PTSB, Ulster Bank) in March 2021 and include, for example, branch mergers, closure of sub offices and closure of other locations when a tender matured. The figures have been aggregated as the Central Bank is not in a position to share individual firm specific information obtained during the course of supervision, due to supervisory confidentiality requirements.