Chief executive Tania Dickie told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the decision to close the branches was not taken lightly and feedback from both staff and the credit union’s 22,000 members would be considered.
The consultation period started yesterday and would end on February 20. A final report would be released on March 1 and if the branches were closed, it would be at the end of March.
Although 18 jobs would be lost through the proposals, eight new positions would be created in customer or sales roles in Dunedin, Christchurch and Invercargill.
"This is a difficult situation for us all and I want to pay tribute to our staff for their outstanding work over the years."
Wherever possible, the credit union would try to find positions for staff in new customer service roles being created, Ms Dickie said.
The proposals released yesterday followed much research. The credit union had 22,000 members but in the previous year about 200,000 online banking transactions were made through the internet, mobile banking and telephone banking.
One member per hour per staff member went into the credit union’s branch network, she said.
The large Dunedin branch was having a partition installed to reduce the size of the banking area. Although the credit union had a lot of member activity, very few members were going into the branch.
In Greymouth, there were three staff members. If one was on holiday and another one was sick, a staff member from Christchurch or Dunedin had to be sent over as cover, not an ideal situation.
In other situations, such as Oamaru and Timaru, there were limited opportunities for the credit union to expand its business through branches.
Each of the branches proposed for closure had fewer than 1200 members; two had fewer than 1000. All locations were fully banked, Ms Dickie said.
Members had already been good at accepting new technology. The credit union had introduced a debit card which was well accepted and the mobile app, introduced four years ago, had been a success.
More members were applying for loans online and doing most, if not all, of their banking online. About 75% of personal loan applications were made through the internet or telephone.
The branch visits were equal to 10% of the use of the mobile app, internet banking and telephone banking activities per month and those channels were growing, she said.
Foot traffic was well down in the branches, leading to product sales through branches also decreasing. Asked about the loss of the money coaching service, Ms Dickie said there were fewer than 500 members using the system. All staff could now provide assistance to deal with the goals of customers, including the credit union’s strong support of KiwiSaver. Some of the people using the current coaching system had not learnt any new skills and did not graduate to making more of their own decisions. For $10 a month, they could have a money coach for as long as they liked.
"We have to have a credit union which is sustainable and developing. The cost of keeping those branches open for little return is uneconomic. The changes we will make will add to our profit and ensure ongoing development."
● Credit Union South is a 100% New Zealand-owned financial co-operative trading throughout the South Island. It is the third-largest credit union in the country.
Proposals
• Greymouth, Timaru, Oamaru and Gore branches to close.
• Money coaching service and some customer service roles in Dunedin will be cut.
• Eighteen jobs will be lost but eight created in Dunedin, Invercargill and Christchurch.
• Consolidate two Christchurch branches and relocate the Richmond branch to Nelson.
• Consultation period started yesterday and ends on February 20.
