Banks across Singapore will close some branches till May 4

Singapore

BANKS across Singapore have announced plans to close some branches till May 4 in anticipation of lower footfall amid tighter social distancing measures to curb the community spread of Covid-19 here.

The three local banks - DBS, OCBC and UOB - will shut 29, 22 and 24 branches respectively islandwide, with no change in the operating hours at branches that will remain open.

UOB on Tuesday said it will close 24 branches from April 11 to May 4, and has ensured that the nearest open branch will be within a three-kilometre radius from an affected branch during this period.

With that, 38 branches will remain open; most are located near other essential services such as grocery stores and food and beverage outlets, said the lender in a statement.

Some of its branches that will stay open are located at Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok Central, Clementi, Serangoon Central, Jurong Point, Tampines, Vivo City and Parkway Parade, to name a few.

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Meanwhile, Singapore's largest lender DBS will progressively close affected DBS/POSB branches over the course of about one week, according to a notice put up on the bank's website on Monday.

Its Marina Bay Sands branch was the first to shut on Tuesday, followed by its Newton, Square 2, Tampines East, White Sands, Jurong Point and Tanjong Pagar branches on April 9.

Branches that will be closed on April 13 are located at: Ngee Ann City, Woodlands West, Tampines One, Marine Parade, Seletar Mall, Alexandra, Holland Village, and Raffles Link.

The remaining 14 affected branches that will close on April 14 are located at: Bishan, Raffles Place, South Bridge, Suntec City, Centrepoint, Yishun West, Bedok, Serangoon Garden, Compass One, Eastpoint, Westgate, Bukit Panjang, Jurong West and Yew Tee.

That leaves 28 DBS/POSB branches that will stay open.

DBS and UOB will also dedicate the first hour of operations at their remaining open branches to serve vulnerable customers. This group comprises the elderly (aged 60 and above), pregnant mothers and people with disabilities. DBS's SMS Q service will not be available during this hour.

Separately, OCBC's 22 branches that will be closed from April 9 are located at Bishan, Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, City Square Mall, Holland Village, Hougang, Jurong West, Kallang Wave Premier, Marina Bay Financial Centre, North Bridge Road, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Parkway Parade Premier, Paya Lebar Square, Serangoon Garden, Singapore Management University, Sun Plaza, Suntec City, Ubi, United Square, White Sands and Woodlands.

With that, 24 branches remain open, including all 19 branches that offer banking services on Sunday. OCBC said it has ensured that there will be at least one branch open in the proximity of every neighbourhood town centre.

All of five branches with safe deposit boxes will also remain open to allow customers to access their personal items and documents kept in these boxes. It will likewise keep open the trade service centres at OCBC Centre South and OCBC Tampines Centre 2. In a press release last Friday, the bank said it "will ensure that there is ample cash available" at all its ATMs and open branches.

As part of industry-wide efforts to minimise social interaction, Maybank, HSBC, Citi and Standard Chartered also have plans to shut selected branches from April 9 to May 4.

Standard Chartered will close half of its 16 branches here, which are located at: Bedok, Clementi, Jurong Point, Marina Bay, Ngee Ann City International Banking Priority Private Banking Centre, Sixth Avenue, Takashimaya and Tampines.

The six Maybank branches that will be closed from April 9 are located at: Holland Village, Jurong East, Tampines, Waterway Point, Yishun, and Orchard Shopping Centre (MSpace). Two other branches at Textile Centre and Woodlands 888 will be closed from April 15.

Separately, HSBC will close seven of its 13 branches islandwide. The affected branches are located at: Hillview, Alexandra, Tampines, Suntec City, Holland Village, Jewel Changi Airport and Collyer Quay.

Over the same period, Citibank Singapore will close four branches at Asia Square, Woodlands, Holland Village and Punggol. Remaining branches will have revised operating hours, and vulnerable customers will be provided with a dedicated hour from 9.30am to 10.30am as well as priority queues to enter the branches.

While banks are essential services that will stay open during the month-long imposition of tighter restrictions to curb the virus spread here, lenders are due to shut a significant number of branches amid slower traffic as well as in balancing staff welfare.

The authorities in Singapore have assured that all financial markets in Singapore remain open, and that payment services are unaffected.

Branches that remain open must be well distributed across the country to adequately meet their banking customers' needs. ATM services must also remain available.