BANK of Ireland has been urged to publish footfall numbers for each of the branches it plans to shut this year.
The lender is set to close 103 branches, including 15 in the north.
Nine of the northern branches will close between June 23 and July 8, with the shutters coming down on the remaining six during the Autumn.
Impact assessments published by Bank of Ireland UK include a percentage representing the drop off in over-the-counter transactions in the last four years.
The drop off ranges from 48 per cent in Downpatrick to 68 per cent in Belfast’s Lisburn Road.
Announcing the closures on March 1, Bank of Ireland UK’s chief executive Ian McLaughlin said: the lender had reached a tipped point: “Digital banking is growing fast, while branch footfall is dropping sharply.”
But the bank’s own reports reveal that in most cases, one-in-three customers tied to the individual branches are still not digitally active.
The Ormeau Road branch recorded the lowest digital take-up (60 per cent), rising to 71 per cent in Dungannon.
The Financial Services Union (FSU) has called on Bank of Ireland to publish individual footfall figures for each location.
The union’s general secretary John O’Connell has also hit out at the lender’s admission in the assessments that the closure of the Northern Ireland branches will impact vulnerable customers, “particularly during this period of Covid-19 restrictions.”
“This is a terrible indictment of the culture in BOI that despite all the evidence they are still proceeding to close branches, while at the same time recognising that vulnerable people will be most affected by the decision,” said Mr O’Connell.
Bank of Ireland has said that its customers will be able to use Post Office to make lodgements of cash and cheques, withdraw cash and make balance enquiries. But in some cases, customers will have their local branch moved more than 20 miles.
Bank of Ireland customers in Downpatrick will now be administered from Belfast, while Dungannon customers will move to Magherafelt.
The latest annual report from Bank of Ireland UK revealed the lender owns 12 of the northern branches due to close, estimating their value at £2.7 million.
