Raiffeisen CEO Patrik Gisel remains true to his word: Switzerland’s third-biggest bank is shuttering further branches, this time in the Valais region.
«I think the number of branches will fall to 800 over the course of two years,» said Raiffeisen CEO Patrik Gisel in an interview with finews.com in August 2016. The bank currently has 955 high-street branches.
In the latest round of closures, the bank is now eliminating 17 branches in the Valais region of Switzerland – better known for skiing in Zermatt and Saas Fee. The closures were reported by «1815.ch», a regional news provider.
No Job Cuts Planned
The bank doesn’t intend to release any employees due to the closures and the staff affected will be able to meet customers either at the remaining branches or even at the clients’ homes.
Raiffeisen’s decision to reduce the number of branches comes as customers more and more chose to do their banking business online at home. Banking with desks and clerks is quickly losing out as digital banking is taking over.
Some Close, Others Open New Branches
Raiffeisen isn’t the only bank to accelerate the closures – Credit Suisse is also shuttering branches to cut costs. Valiant Bank by contrast has been opening new branches, for instance in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, finews.com reported recently.
