First Trust Bank to close six branches in North

First Trust Bank has confirmed that it will close six branches in Northern Ireland by June.

Staff at the branches are to be offered other positions or voluntary severance. There will be no forced redundancies, according to the bank.

Branches at Belfast’s Cregagh Road, Ballyclare and Limavady are due to close in May followed by Larne, Holywood and Fortwilliam, also Belfast.

The bank said there would be no changes to account numbers or sort codes and customers affected by the closures will be transferred to the nearest branch.

First Trust managing director Gerry McGinn said: “It is never an easy decision to close branches and our focus is on minimising inconvenience to our customers and continuing to provide them with a professional, efficient banking service.

“Like all retail businesses, we must constantly review our costs in order to move forward as a more streamlined and sustainable organisation.”