AIB's move to close 67 branches across the country including five in County Tipperary could backfire.
That's the message from bank union IBOA.
It claims that while four mobile banks will cover 31 rural locations, including Tipperary one of the key assumptions is that customers will use online and phone banking systems.
Finance trade union leader Larry Broderick says the recent experience of Ulster Bank shows how dangerous it is to put all your eggs in the technology basket. He said the saving grace for Ulster Bank in the recent crisis was the performance of front-line staff, who could interact on a personal level with individual customers.
