This morning.
Further to the Bank of Ireland’s decision to close 103 branches across the island of Ireland….
…John O’Connell, General Secretary of the Financial Services Union, said Bank of Ireland could not be allowed to withdraw a vital service from the elderly, from people with no internet access, from people with literacy problems at this time of increased anxiety.
He added:
“The announcement this morning by Bank of Ireland to close 103 branches will shock both staff and customers alike. How can Bank of Ireland think it is appropriate to make this announcement when the country is in the middle of a pandemic. It is a shameful act which needs to be reversed.”
Full list of closures here
Decision to close Bank of Ireland branches ‘shameful’ (RTÉ)
Meanwhile…
Bank of Ireland CEO Frances McDonagh
The 103 Bank of Ireland branches being closed are ‘reasonably well spread’ around the country and include branches in Dublin, CEO Francesca McDonagh has said.
She told @morningireland the closures will begin in September | Read more: https://t.co/XHUo5qi5xT pic.twitter.com/Y3IgBBb5st
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) March 1, 2021
Will John O’Connell, General Secretary of the Financial Services Union ballot its members for a strike? I don’t think so. In fact, can anyone remember the last time there was a strike in the private sector? Doesn’t happen anymore?
“John O’Connell, General Secretary of the Financial Services Union, said Bank of Ireland could not be allowed to withdraw a vital service from the elderly, from people with no internet access, from people with literacy problems at this time of increased anxiety”
The bank is not a charity. It is a business. If Mr O Connell wants these services provided he should resign from his union position and join a charity and off he goes.
Exactly, populist hot air, completely unprofessional of him.
ah now – while I think that the days of bank branches in every town are well and truly numbered, John O’Connell’s job is represent the best interests of the members of the union; of course he is going to put forward emotive appeals such as this, even if they are a bit disingenuous.
I suspect by the end of the year , his members will be asking themselves why they pay union subs ….
This is the bank that stole thousands from its own customers during the tracker mortgage scandal. Nothing surprises me about BOI. They are terrible.
Why are BOI terrible for closing down branches that are losing money hand over fist? We will see every bank going this way – when was the last time you had to go to a bank in person?
When I was a BOI customer a few years ago. Haven’t been in a bank since as I’m with N26 now, no fees!
Yes of course banks will eventually close down more physical branches, but they still have a large older community that needs to be thought about. They should be informing them on how they can be accommodated.
Well, that’s good for you, isn’t it? You didn’t seem especially concerned about older customers who can’t use the internet when you switched to a bank that is, by definition, does not cater at all to this ‘older community that needs to be thought about’.
Well you can’t hold down an idea that’s day has come. Crypto currencies are here and they will render banks irrelevant. They will also render governments irrelevant if they don’t pay attention and get on board. They have tried to outlaw cryptos and blockchain and it’s not working out too well. They can’t beat em so they need to join em.
Establishment banks can’t join crypto currencies. Crypto currency and block chain tech is about decentralized financing, banks are about centralized financing. Black chain also has a long way to go to earn trust. It’s rife with scammers and hackers. I do believe it will get bigger over time and eventually accepted. Still early days though.
Based on the Dublin closings appears affect disproportionately the cohort except from negative interest rate fees,oh people say receiving benefits.
A private company when it suits them but a public service of national importance,when they broke need a state dig out.
+ V
in other news !
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/01/former-french-president-nicolas-sarkozy-sentenced-to-three-years-for-corruption
A court has found Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced the former French president to three years in prison with two of them suspended.
The former president was said to have forged a “corruption pact” with his lawyer and a senior magistrate.
Judges said there was “serious evidence” of collaboration between the three men to break the law. The court had heard how Sarkozy instructed his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, to offer the magistrate a cushy job on the Côte d’Azur in return for information on a separate investigation centred on the rightwing politician.
gotta love the French sometimes!
Varadker and his ilk must be glad they operate in a place like Ireland
yup no fear of your crap catching up with you here :)
The banks have shown no concern for customers since they were trying to get their money for loans that then became impossible for many to repay due to the financial collapse and subsequent Universal Social Charge which had to be levied due to the same banks’ negligence. After that they basically turned their branches into citadels. Very hard on older people and those with limited computer literacy and access, and thoroughly unpleasant for the rest of us. Equal only to Vodafone in their abysmal standard of customer care.
Terrible decision, many older people will be completely stranded and more likely to get scammed now by electronic means.
Time to switch bank