Resona Holdings Inc. will take the unusual step of designating weekdays as regular holidays at branches operated by its affiliate banks, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
Employees of the closed branches can instead work at other branches that are open that day. Resona aims to maintain its branch network with fewer employees through the new staffing scheme.
Banks are eliminating and consolidating branches in expectation of dwindling revenue due to depopulation and extraordinarily low interest rates. Resona's new scheme may be seen as a model for maintaining a bank branch network.
Resona Holdings' affiliates Resona Bank Ltd. and Saitama Resona Bank Ltd. will implement the new scheme. The two banks operated a total of 460 branches as of the end of March.
In the first phase of the plan, the Itsukaichi local office of Resona Bank's Akiruno branch in Akiruno, Tokyo, will begin closing on Wednesdays from Aug. 8 and be open four days a week. Employees of the local office will instead work at nearby branches, or use the day to complete clerical work or training.
Resona Holdings will closely monitor the Itsukaichi office's performance while gradually implementing the scheme at other branches. By designating different days of the week as regular holidays at various branches, it is thought the branch network can be supported by fewer employees.
For example, if one branch is open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while another is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the two branches can be run using the number of staff needed for a single branch. Resona will also consider opening branches on Saturday or Sunday in place of a weekday, in a bid to tailor its holidays to fit customers' needs.
According to the Financial Services Agency, bank branches are required by law to designate weekends, national holidays, year-end and New Year holidays as holidays. Branches in shopping malls that have weekday holidays are considered to be exceptions.
The agency approved the closure of the Itsukaichi local office on a weekday after the office transferred its checking accounts, which are used to settle bills and checks, to other branches so as to not affect customers' transactions on the day off.
The new scheme undertaken by a major bank is expected to be adopted by regional and shinkin banks that operate low-profit branches, many of which are located in depopulated areas.
The agency plans to drastically review its regulations to permit banks with checking accounts to designate weekdays as regular holidays, in an effort to promote schemes similar to the Resona plan.
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