Thanachart Bank (TBank) will review its expansion plan for fully automated branches, citing the low number of transactions at such branches since their launch two years ago.
The bank needs to consider whether it will open more Thanachart Express branches because activity at the three automated locations is not significant, said Anuwat Luengtaweekul, executive vice-president for retail and small business distribution.
TBank can serve customers through traditional and other digital channels, he said. The bank will also maintain the number of brick-and-mortar branches at more than 500, but relocate some to better serve customers.
With a sufficient scale in the existing distribution channels, the bank has no plans to offer financial services through banking agents.
While the bank prioritises its planned merger with TMB Bank, its business operations will run normally, he said.
At the end of February, TMB Bank entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding to consolidate with TBank, in which TCAP holds a 50.96% stake through a business transfer, with an estimated transaction value of 130-140 billion baht. The transaction for the merger is expected to be finalised by the end of 2019.
In related news, Kasikorn Research Center (K-Research) said in a note the number of ATMs fell 0.98% to 57,554 last year, the first decline since their debut in Thailand 35 years ago. In 2017, the number of ATM rose by 5.17%.
The fall reflects a shift in commercial banks' focus to digital banking apps to keep pace with customers' lifestyles. It is in line with the decline in money withdrawal volume at ATMs during the first nine months of 2018 from the end of 2017, the note said without providing a figure.
If demand for cash drops dramatically, it could prompt a shared ATM network among commercial banks, and probably extend to non-bank financial institutions to reduce operating expenses, K-Research said.
K-Research forecasts the industry's costs will be slashed by 5.22 to 5.58 billion baht a year, representing 0.03% of the country's GDP, for every 5% decline in ATMs.
The estimate assumes only off-site ATMs are cut and their locations have high traffic. The operating costs of ATMs are 30 times higher than the digital channel.
