Northern will shut five branches

By Kevin Magee
Business correspondent

The bank is to close five branches across Northern Ireland

The Northern Bank is to close five branches in Northern Ireland in the next few months.

Three branches in Belfast at Ballyhackamore, Castlereagh Road and Boucher Road, and two in Garvagh and Aughnacloy, will shut in September.

This comes on top of five other branch closures last year.

In spite of this contraction the Danish-owned bank denied it represented a retreat from traditional high street banking.

It said that the industry was rapidly changing and customers expected many alternative services such as telephone and e-banking.

The Northern said there would be no job losses as a result of the latest round of closures.

Once it takes affect, 83 branches of the Northern will remain throughout Northern Ireland.

In November 2008, the bank announced a £3m investment programme to upgrade facilitates within its branch network.

Northern Bank began in 1809 as a Belfast-based banking company known as the Northern Banking Partnership.

It was acquired by the Danske Bank Group in 2005, the largest bank in Denmark and a major player in Scandinavian financial markets.