On March 12, Thursday, a protest gathering of residents was organized in Esch-Lallange, Luxembourg, against the closure of the Spuerkeess Bank branch in the town. The call for the protest was given by the Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL). The chairman of KPL, Ali Ruckert, addressed the gathering. The state-owned Spuerkeess Bank (BCEE), one of the leading commercial banks in Luxembourg, had announced the closure of a number of branches recently.
Ruckert alleged that “Spuerkeess Bank, in its pursuit of profit maximization – the net profit was an average of about 220 million euros per year between 2014 and 2018 – has forgotten its self-proclaimed [goal of] social responsibility. The government must ensure that banking services are available for everyone in the area and in the residential quarters as in Esch-Lallange”.
“It is an unreasonable hardship, especially for the disabled people in the locality Unlike what it claims, Spuerkeess does not seem to respond to the “wishes and habits” of its customers,” he added.
On March 5, the KPL had organized a protest in Rumelange against the closure of the BCCE branch. The mayor of Rümelinger, Henri Haine, from the Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP), had also criticized the government’s decision to close down the lone BCCE branch in the town.
Last month, BCCE had announced the closure of 11 of the 65 branches operational in the country, citing a decrease in the number of customers. In addition to Esch-Lallange and Rumelange, branches in Wasserbillig, Colmar-Berg, Bridel, Larochette, Pommerloch, Hosingen, Réiserbann, and the Belle Etoile are also likely to be shut down on or before March 27, 2020.
