One in five Bank of Irelands to close

One in five Bank of Ireland Branches is to be closed in a major rationalisation programme, according to newspaper reports this morning.

However, the closures will mean a welcome boost to rural post offices - which have been under threat.

Out of 315 Bank of Ireland branches nationwide, 65 will close over the next two years.

The bank said it did not have a policy of shutting down rural branches, but that the closures would mostly impact on towns and cities where there was more than one branch.

The move is, however, likely to give a boost to many post offices around the country, whose future has been under threat.

Negotiations between Bank of Ireland and An Post, which have lasted two years, will lead to some bank functions being taken over by rural post offices.

As many as seven million counter transactions are to transfer to the post office network - most of these will be bill payments.