Bank to keep two city branches

The merging of the National Bank into the ANZ Bank will not mean the bank's existing central city branch in Wanganui will be closing.

That assurance was given yesterday by Peter Barnao, from ANZ's communications division, that even though the National Bank was being phased out over the next two years and both banks were almost directly opposite each other in Victoria Ave, both would remain in business.

"We'll keep two branches operating in the Avenue with the same staff working in each as they are doing now," Mr Barnao said.

ANZ National Bank announced on Wednesday the National Bank brand would progressively be phased out over about two years.

The company's legal name would become ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd.

The ANZ bought the National Bank in 2003 and after almost 10 years of reducing duplication, the management said the next logical step was to combine them into one.

Management said that in most cases those ANZ and National Bank branches located very close to each other would either co-locate to the larger branch or relocate to an area nearby where there was customer demand.

But Mr Barnao said this would not be the case in Wanganui.

He said the decision had come with a commitment that no frontline staff would be affected by the changes.

"For our existing ANZ customers it will be business as usual.

"For National Bank customers, they'll see a change in signage, branding and staff uniforms and that's it."

He said the bank could not give an indication when the branding changes would take place except that the programme would be rolled out over the next two years.

Both banks have a total of 300 branches nationwide but that would be pared back to 280.

Earlier Andrew Daubney, ANZ's regional manager for the Manawatu-Wanganui-Taranaki area, told the Chronicle that a countrywide review included both those Avenue banks.

Mr Daubney said the ANZ office was not that old and, while the National was in an old building "it's fine, so there's absolutely no way we'll be moving out of that building".

The Historic Places Trust has given the National Bank building a category two rating.