KUALA LUMPUR: The closure of 106 bank branches since last year is not an indication that the banking industry is in crisis.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Othman Aziz (pic) said six banks had closed their branches as part of their rationalisation plans.

"The closure of the branches were a commercial decision and not as what was suggested.

"The closure of the smaller branches were done as it was not commercially viable to maintain them," he said when answering a question by Dr Mohd Hatta Md Ramli (Amanah-Kuala Krai) in Parliament Tuesday.

Othman said the advent of e-commerce,  online banking and competition from other banks were the reasons why the banks closed down some its less profitable branches.

Dr Mohd Hatta had asked if the closure of the bank branches was a barometer indicating a crisis in the sector due to the global economic slowdown.

Othman informed the House that 32 commercial bank branches and 11 Islamic bank branches were closed last year.

"As of October this year, 58 commercial bank branches and five Islamic bank branches were closed," he said.

He noted that the closures would not affect the economic activities in their respective areas.

As of June this year, Othman said that 1,425 bank employees were retrenched after opting for mutual separation scheme.

He added there were 137,000 workers employed in the banking industry which represents 1.0% of the country's total workforce.

To a question by Anuar Abd Manap (BN-Sekijang), Othman said that bank employees were subjected to transfers but should not be victimised if there was a decision to transfer them.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Abd Muttalib said that a total of 2,272 workers from the oil and gas sectors lost their jobs since last year.

He said that 1,632 workers from the oil and gas sectors lost their jobs in 2015, with another 640 losing their jobs as of September this year.

Ismail was answering a question raised by Dr Mansor Abd Rahman (BN-Sik) who wanted to know how many workers had lost their jobs in the sectors concerned.

TAGS / KEYWORDS:
closure , bank branches , rationalisation plans

Source:
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/11/15/closure-of-bank-branches-due-to-rationalisation-plans-says-deputy-finance-minister/