THREE banks in the territory have come under attack from police for their ''customer-friendly'' approach to security after a spate of robberies last week.
The Bank of East Asia is to step up security at its banks across the territory following two armed robberies in two days at its Shanghai Street branch.
The bank, along with the Standard Chartered and Wing On banks, has been criticised for what one policeman described as ''loose security'' and for not following police guidelines.
Crime Prevention Bureau head Mr Graham Lander said: ''Overall, security in most of the banks is not too bad. About 60 per cent are closed banks and pretty adequate screening prevents them [staff] giving in to the demands of armed robbers.
''But Standard Chartered, Bank of East Asia and Wing On Bank still follow the customer-friendly open plan approach.'' Mr Lander said while the number of robberies dropped last year to 94 from 147 in 1991, the figures would have been even lower if not for almost 30 robberies at Standard Chartered branches.
''With robberies on the decline throughout last year, if you'd taken Standard Chartered Bank from the statistics, it would have been a magnificent year,'' he said.