The AIB bank in Schull will close. Pic: Google
AIB bank will close three of its branches in West Cork by the end of next year as part of a nationwide cost-cutting exercise.
The branches to go in West Cork are Schull, Ballydehob and Innishannon.
AIB Innishannon. Pic: Google
The closure of the Schull and Ballydehob branches will leave the Mizen peninsula without an AIB branch for the first time.
Customers will now have to travel to Skibbereen or Bantry to visit a branch involving a round-trip of up to 90 km for people from the far west of the peninsula.
The bank is closing four other Cork branches in Mayfield, Passage West, Buttevant and Newmarket from a total of 67 across the country.
It has also announced a 0.5% hike in its standard variable rate for mortgage holders from 3% to 3.5% from 3 September.
AIB Ballydehob. Pic: Google
The bank said the closures would not result in any compulsory redundancies.
The bank’s financial results just reported show an operating loss of €1.1bn for the first half of the year.
I think it is a disgrace that two of the AIB branches are to close in Schull and in Ballydehob there is still a journey in to Skiibbereen to do ones banking and not every one is doing banking online and in some places in westcork the broad band is not good. What about people who have no transport it will be a enconvenince for them and Schull is a tourist attraction not to leave a Bank there is a disgrace what are the three TDS for westcork doing like the hotel closed in Schull and now the bank at least innishannon is not to far from Bandon compare Schull to Skibbereen. Anne Murphy