SBS Bank to close Napier branch

The Dalton St branch will close at the end of August. Photo / Google Maps

SBS Bank is closing its Napier branch.

It made the announcement on Wednesday that it would close the Dalton St branch at the end of August and consolidate its Hastings branch into "SBS Hawke's Bay".

No jobs would be lost as all staff will be retained and work at the Hastings branch location, it said.

SBS Bank CEO Shaun Drylie said the reality was that banking habits have changed.

"Even pre-Covid-19, in the 12 months between January 2019 and January 2020, the number of staff-assisted transactions in the Napier branch had decreased by 20 per cent, and in June 2020 they had dropped by more than a third compared with the same month in 2019," Drylie said.

More than two–thirds of SBS Bank's members in the Hawke's Bay area are customers of the Hastings branch.

Over 60 per cent of SBS's Napier members had not visited their branch in the past 12 months, and of those who have, nearly half only visited the branch once, he said.

"We don't underestimate the impact that closing our Napier branch might have on some of our valued members, but unfortunately there just is not the demand overall for our in-branch services in Napier to justify keeping it open, particularly in the current challenging economic environment.

"However, our staff will continue to be available to visit members at their homes or workplaces if they are unable to visit a branch."

The Hastings branch's opening hours will continue to be 9am to 3pm, with additional service available outside these hours by appointment.