Bankia SA : Bankia accelerates the restructuring of its branch network and will complete the process within one year
02/11/2013| 06:43am US/Eastern
Bankia accelerates the restructuring of its branch network and will complete the process within one year
At the end of the process, the bank will have 2,000 branches and will maintain its national franchise.
The reduction in capacity will improve efficiency and profitability, which are essential for returning the State aid received.
In March Bankia will begin the process of streamlining its branch network as part of the Restructuring Plan approved by European and Spanish authorities in November.
Although the original timeframe for the plan was three years, Bankia intends to accelerate the process and to complete almost all of it within one year, in order to stabilise the franchise and maintain the highest levels of customer service. The bank's central services will also be streamlined while it restructures its network.
At the end of the process, the bank will have 2,000 branches and will maintain its national franchise.
Once the process is complete, Bankia will have around 2,000 branches and will continue to be a national franchise with a greater presence in the group's original strongholds and areas of influence.
Depending on the established plans, the branches involved will be informed at least one month prior to their closure. Customers that need to switch branches will also be informed several weeks in advance about the new location where they can continue to receive banking services.
Bankia's chairman, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, confirmed that, "This restructuring is necessary to improve Bankia's efficiency and profitability, to ensure the viability of the project and the possibility of returning the State aid received". "With a network of 2,000 branches, Bankia will continue to have a presence across the whole of Spain and will preserve the jobs of 14,500 people".
