Singapore's DBS Group, which last year took over Dao Heng Bank, plans to close up to 12 of its 82 branches in Hong Kong as it targets more affluent customers.
If the plan is executed in full, DBS will have shut down almost a third of the 102 branches it controlled in Hong Kong last year, which comprised the Dao Heng network and outlets of DBS Kwong On, an earlier acquisition.
A spokesman for DBS said yesterday that the new 70-branch figure was a 'long-term target', with 'no set timeline', and the plan would not involve any compulsory redundancies.
'It is just an indicative number. We are reviewing the entire market: some branches may have to close, we may open others,' he said.
The fresh target came to light in comments from Dao Heng chief executive Randy Sullivan, which were reported in the current issue of The Edge Singapore, a business weekly in the city-state.
'We are going after the middle market, the affluent customers and that means some old branches will have to be closed,' he said.
The magazine said Mr Sullivan wanted the reductions to be completed by the end of the year, implying branches could be closed at the rate of two a month until December.