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BNZ to close 38 bank branches

Thursday, 19 November 2020

Bank of New Zealand is consolidating its workforce.
Bank of New Zealand is consolidating its workforce.

Bank of New Zealand will close 38 branches over the next seven months, despite an earlier commitment not to shut any regional branches until at least 2022.

Eight branches will close on Christmas Eve, including Courtenay Place, Mt Maunganui and Pakuranga.

Another 14 will close between February and March, including Waiheke, St Heliers, Cromwell and Westport.

A further 16 will close between April and June.

**READ MORE:

* Banks beginning trials that could save face-to-face banking in regions

* Coronavirus: Banks waive contactless payment fees, BNZ offers its lowest ever advertised mortgage rate

* Government reaches deal with banks to push pause on regional branch closures

**

In 2019, the bank’s chief customer officer, Paul Carter, said it was focused on being accessible and available to all customers and that was why it was committing to keeping all regional branches open until at least 2022.

Bank profits have fallen as a result of provisioning for bad loans as the economy took a hit from the Covid-19 pandemic.

But on Thursday he said the pandemic had altered plans.

“We don’t take this decision lightly. We made our commitment on regional branches in good faith. Not only was it a commitment to the communities we serve, it was also a commitment to our people, as closing a branch used to mean losing jobs,” Carter said.

“However, Covid changed everything. Our customers have embraced digital services and tools and our bankers are serving customers irrespective of where they are.

“We’ve shown we can work from anywhere and there are job opportunities for all our people – it reflects the ongoing shift in how our customers are choosing to bank with us.”

Carter said the pandemic had accelerated trends that had been seen for some time. About three-quarters of customers were “digitally active”.

“The majority of our customers are banking online and our talented bankers are often waiting in empty branches for customers that simply do not arrive,” he said.

“Branches will still have a role in how we serve our customers. We will continue to invest in modern customer centres to help customers take advantage of online banking and our digital tools, and where they can access specialist services.”

He said BNZ would work with the bankers in the branches affected to find new opportunities within the bank. Every affected employee would be offered another position.

“We’ve given ourselves a long runway before closing our regional branches so we can support the small number of customers that regularly use these locations to adopt alternative ways of banking.

“Our mobile branch, Mobile BNZ, worked well in the Manawatū-Whanganui and Northland regions bringing banking services and financial support to remote communities, and we will be adding additional vehicles to our fleet to enable more communities to receive financial support,” he said.

Carter said changes to its branch network were part of a wider review of all BNZ locations to consolidate its workforce.

“Our people have embraced the flexibility of remote working. It suits our customers and our people and changes to our office space reflect that,” he said.

In Wellington, work is now under way on BNZ’s new site at Whitmore St to open in 2023. Once complete, it will bring together BNZ employees from three other existing sites.

Metro branches to close on December 24, 2020 (eight branches)

Branches closing between February and March 2021 (14 branches)

Branches closing between April and June 2021 (16 branches)