The ING and Rabobank are planning to reduce branch numbers more quickly, because the coronavirus crisis has sped up the adoption of online banking, reports the NOS.

A quarter of ING’s 170 branches will be closed, and some of the 100 local Rabobanks which are currently shut are expected to stay this way.

Ruud van Dusschoten, chief executive of ING Nederland told the broadcaster: ‘The corona crisis has accelerated the process of advancing digitisation. There are some offices where currently an average of two or three customers an hour visit…In the end there won’t be enough visitors to keep a local branch open.’

He pointed out that a number of ING processes have now been digitalised and so customers do not need to visit an office as they had done in the past.

It is unclear how many Rabobank branches, of its total of 335, would close and ING has not yet announced which of its offices will shut.

Last year, the ING closed 40% of service points within shops such as Bruna and Primera, but the remaining service points are expected to take over some of the functions of the former branches. It expects the impact on staff numbers to be minimal, because there will be new jobs in other departments such as anti-money laundering team, however some temporary contracts will not be renewed.