Residents of a Co Limerick village are preparing to do battle with AIB over its decision to close a bank branch in a fortnight's time. The Limerick West TD, Mr Michael Finucane, said he had been told at a senior level that the Kilfinane branch was profitable. This was not confirmed when he and other local politicians accompanied a delegation to a meeting with bank officials in Limerick on Thursday.
"What they should tap into now is that a whole community has been galvanised in support of AIB provided they make the right decision," he said.
An AIB spokesman said yesterday the group did not comment on the profitability of any branch.
The decision to close Kilfinane follows two branch closures in villages in the area over the past year. Residents are now planning to lobby county councillors to change the council's account with AIB if the branch closes.
"Save our Bank" posters have been put up in windows in the village of 800 people. Account holders are threatening to change banks if their branch closes rather than travelling the six miles to AIB in Kilmallock.
"What was shocking was they only gave a month's notice," Mr Diarmuid McIntyre, secretary of the Kilfinane Development Association, said.
The association has the support of people in Ballylanders village, eight miles away, after their AIB branch closed last year. At the time, they were requested to do their business in Kilfinane. Messages of support have been received from Bruff whose AIB branch closed last month. The blow was softened for residents there because they have a Bank of Ireland branch.
In Kilfinane, pensioners will feel the closure most acutely. Ms Elizabeth McGrath, an account holder for the past 47 years, says: "It means that if the bank is transferred down the road to Kilmallock, I will have to hire a car." Ms Joan Connor, an account holder for 58 years who manages nine cottages for the Rent an Irish Cottage company, said tourists would also miss the facility. "A town without a bank is not a town at all."
Ms Maeve Goggin also remembers AIB's predecessor, the Munster & Leinster Bank going back 50 years. She said she would find the closure awkward. "I have no car and my daughter works until 7 p.m."
On Monday, two people will stage a 12-hour fast outside the branch as a protest. Last Thursday, the delegation was told the decision was made at local level because the branch lacked a commercial base and because it was used regularly by only 14 per cent of customers.
"They kept coming back to the context of how banking is going and looking at the bigger picture. "They did not say the bank was losing money," Ms Anne Delaney, said.
A member of Ballyhoura Development, she said there was a general perception services had been run down over the past three years.
Mr McIntyre added that the village was a dynamic place surviving on its own merits with multiple small businesses and a growing agri-tourism base.
The delegation asked for a 12-month extension on the branch's life, saying they would provide AIB with new accounts of people currently banking elsewhere.
"It is the whole issue of services in rural areas and creating sustainable villages as opposed to commuter towns," Mr McIntyre said.
AIB said the decision was made following a review of the business being conducted at the branch. "AIB has recently upgraded the Kilmallock outlet in preparation for the relocation of staff and customer accounts," the bank stated.
More than 40 outlets have been closed over the past three years, 50 per cent of which were in rural areas. AIB added that in some cases, staff worked closely with account holders to minimise the effect of closures. The bank says it "fully understands the apprehension of communities when closures are taking place and, while there are a number of alternative delivery channels available, AIB accepts that telephone and Internet banking services are not always suitable for some groups of customers".