Opposition is mounting to a Bank of Ireland plan to close one of its four branches in Waterford city and withdraw over-the-counter services in another.
Residents and business owners in Ballybricken say the community will be severely affected by the bank's decision to rationalise services in and close to the city centre.
From July, the bank intends to amalgamate its branches at The Quay, Parnell Street and Ballybricken under a single Waterford city name. The outlet at Ballybricken, which was refurbished only two years ago, will close. An over-the-counter service will no longer be available in Parnell Street, which is to provide automated services only.
Mr Maurice Cummins, a native of Ballybricken and Fine Gael member of Waterford City Council, claims the bank is "putting money before people" by closing a branch which has served the local community for almost three decades.
The bank says, however, that while there will be inconvenience for some customers, the move is a necessary step towards providing an enhanced overall service. Its head of group public affairs, Mr David Holden, said the bank had invested heavily in providing more automated and telephone services "because that's what people want us to do".
The Banking 365 telephone service now employs320 people in Tallaght and 250 jobs were about to be created at a second centre in Kilkenny. "There will be a third one within the next year or so. With all this investment something has to give somewhere regarding the branch network," said Mr Holden. The bank, he said, intended to close about 65 of its 315 branches by the of next year. It had given a commitment, however, that rural communities would not be left without a branch in the absence of an alternative service.
Although Ballybricken is close to Waterford city centre, the decision to close the branch has not gone down well with some customers.
Mr Cummins, an account holder at the branch, says he has opened an account at a nearby TSB bank in response to the move and he knows others who have done the same. A high proportion of the branch's customers were small businesses and pensioners who had been "very loyal" to the bank, he said.
"If the bank thinks all the customers will transfer to The Quay or Parnell Street, they should think again." The bank's only other Waterford branch is in Lisduggan, about two miles from the city centre.
The Mayor of Waterford, Mr Davy Daniels, said he had raised the matter with the bank's regional manager, Mr Freddie Hatton, and hoped to have a response this week. The closure did not make sense at a time when the city was doing well and business was expanding.
Local businesses and residents have organised a petition against the closure, but it appears the bank is not for turning.
Mr Hatton said the bank did not wish to lose customers and was willing to discuss with any individual how their requirements could be met. But the bank could not justify maintaining three branches so close to each other.
The branch at The Quay would be the only providing traditional over-the-counter services under the new regime. Parnell Street would no longer have tellers, but "everything you can do now, you will still be able to do, but via technology".
Mr Hatton said the automated banking centre already in place at this branch was the most advanced of its type in the State, enabling people to make commercial lodgements from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m., 365 days a year.
The amalgamation, which does not involve job losses, would allow the bank to invest in technology and health and safety at its remaining branches and thereby enhance the service to the public, he added.
Mr Cummins, however, claims the decision is "absolutely crazy", given the steady increase in business at Ballybricken. It was "disgraceful" that banks were closing branches, with the consequences for local communities, when they were posting record profits.
