Four of the 28 branches that BPI has closed today, June 30, are in the Algarve. Branches in Sagres, Olhos de Água and Ferreiras in Albufeira, and Porta Nova in Tavira have shut.
BPI has been cutting branches and its head count in order to reduce operating costs and meet the goals of a restructuring plan agreed with the European Commission, having received bailout money in 2012.
The bank had accessed the emergency loan of €1.2 billion at the start of the economic crisis.
One of the stated BPI goals is to reduce the number of branches in Portugal to 684. The bank is also reducing staff to 6,000 workers in its domestic banking operation.
The plan this year is that 250 employees will leave BPI, a process that is on track, according to the bank's chairman Fernando Ulrich.
BPI (Banco Português de Investimento) now has paid off its bailout debt with last week’s final payment of €420million.
BPI was pleased to announce last week that it had cleaned the slate, the first of Portugal's banks to have done so, and informed the regulator accordingly.
Now its branch closure and staff reduction programme can go ahead with renewed focus leaving many customers miles from the nearest branch.
