AIB’s chief executive officer has reassured customers that existing banking services will continue to operate normally and said the bank will not “be ahead” of its customers again.
olin Hunt guaranteed that 170 branches within the AIB network will continue to exist, at least for the duration of his position.
The bank was working on controversial plans to remove the cash-handling facilities of 70 branches, but decided against the change after public and political upheaval across the country.
Mr Hunt said the proposal has been withdrawn and will not be reviewed.
“This was a proposal that the bank had developed, and we made a mistake, we had very strong negative feedback from our customers. They contacted us by email, post, phone and made it clear they didn’t want this to happen,” he said.
“We’ve heard feedback, we’ve listened to it, we’ve acted on it, and we’ve reversed that plan, we’ve withdrawn that proposal, it’s off the agenda and the branch services will continue as they are today.
“AIB is a publicly traded company and all our communication with our shareholders is subject to different rules. We have made formal agreements about the cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and we have adhered to them.”
Mr Hunt said the plan was all about making the office network “future proof” and maintaining “a strong physical presence in communities”.
“My job today is not to spread blame or evade responsibility, this was the bank’s proposal that we announced. We put a lot of thought into the original proposal, which aimed to future-proof our office network,” he told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
“We would have had a very heavy engagement with An Post prior to the announcement, but look, we’re wrong, we made a mistake and within three days we changed course, we withdrew the proposal and I want to thank our customers reassure that existing branch services will continue as they are today.
“This plan was all about keeping the branches open, it was all about maintaining a strong physical presence in communities. It was all about keeping AIB personnel in the communities we serve. The plan will be withdrawn, it will not be revised.
“Will banking services look different in 2030? I think it’s inevitable that they will, but the lesson for us here is that we’ve gone way too far, way too fast and we’re not getting ahead of our customers again.
“The branch services as they are composed today will continue to exist, I can give you that guarantee today.”