Volksbank to close more than half its 600 branches
State-owned Volksbank will close between 320 and 360 of its 600 bank branches, as part of the overhaul announced last month.
In total, the number of SNS branches will shrink from 194 to between 110 and 130 and RegioBank will lose around half its 416 branches, Volksbank said on Monday. Its two other brands, ASN and BLG Wonen, don’t have any public offices.
Volksbank said last month it would scrap 700 jobs and three separate brand names to save €70 million a year. The aim of the reorganisation is to prepare the bank, which was nationalised in 2013, for an IPO or takeover. As yet, the bank has not said which brand name will survive.
Volksbank, which currently operates SNS, Regiobank, BLG Wonen and ASN Bank, also needs to invest in counteracting money laundering and in its IT systems.
The state shareholdings agency NLFI recommended the sale of Volksbank via either an IPO or a takeover in June this year. However, MPs have come out against the plan and want Volksbank to remain in state hands.
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