Deutsche Bank plans to close 250 Postbank branches: Financial expert sharply criticizes the plan

Deutsche Bank plans to close 250 Postbank branches: Financial expert sharply criticizes the plan

According to a report by www.zeit.de, the head of the Federal Association of Consumer Advice Centers, Ramona Pop, criticized the planned large-scale branch reductions at Postbank. Deutsche Bank plans to close up to 250 of the current 550 Postbank branches over the next two years.

This planned branch reduction comes at a time when there were massive and ongoing problems with Postbank's online banking. During the IT migration to Deutsche Bank, Postbank and the construction finance provider DSL-Bank had significant problems, meaning that customers could not access their accounts and customer service was difficult to reach. The consumer advocates have received around 1,700 complaints from Postbank and DSL Bank customers, which means almost three times as many complaints as in the entire previous year. More than 1,100 complaints were recorded in the third quarter alone.

Ms. Pop's reaction was that Deutsche Bank should improve customer service instead of weakening it by closing branches. Their criticism was that the closure of almost half of the branches seemed like “sheer mockery” for Postbank’s customers.

The planned branch closure and the ongoing problems with the IT migration to Deutsche Bank could lead to a significant loss of customer trust in Postbank and Deutsche Bank. The weakening of customer service and accessibility caused by branch closures may result in customers switching to other banks. Deutsche Bank must therefore solve the problems at Postbank quickly and compensate the injured customers in an unbureaucratic manner in order to regain consumer trust.