Permanent TSB has announced a €5 million investment for its branch network in the coming year, as the bank confirmed it had no plans to reduce the number of branches in Ireland.
The bank has 76 branches around the country and has invested about €20 million in the past two years in staff training and new technology.
Director for retail banking Patrick Farrell said branches were an important part of the community.
“Our brand revolves around community and we see branches as a community asset not just a bank asset, so there is a natural desire to maintain a strong, dynamic branch network,” he said. We kept all 76 branches open since the Covid lockdowns began a year ago and we are committed to maintaining a nationwide network into the future.”
Among the investments made were 44 automated banking machines to handle cash transactions, which Mr Farrell said would free up staff to deal directly with customers.
Evolution would safeguard branches, he said. “Branches will change but they don’t have to disappear. We believe they are still a vital part of our business model and the key to safeguarding their future is to make them efficient and give customers valid reasons for using them. That’s less about cash in this day and age and more about digital services and in-person support and that’s what we are doing with these changes.”
Permanent TSB’s commitment to its branch network came only a couple of weeks after Bank of Ireland said it would shut more than 100 branches around Ireland as customers shifted to online banking. The blow to communities followed Ulster Bank’s decision to exit the Irish market, a gradual process that will take place in the coming years.
In December, AIB announced it would be reducing its workforce and merging overlapping branches in three urban locations in the first six months of 2021.
