TMB-Thanachart Bank, the consolidation of two banks, plans to launch 91 co-location branches this year, paving the way for the banks to complete their integration processes.
Of the total, 58 branches are to be in Bangkok and 33 in provincial areas, said Praphan Anupongongarch, president of TMB-Thanachart Bank.
Ten co-location branches were open at the end of March, with 13 more set to be unveiled this month and next, he said.
TMB and Thanachart Bank are undergoing consolidation, expected to be completed by June 2021.
The merger marks the industry's largest such deal, with considerations worth 156 billion baht.
After the integration, the merged bank will be the country's sixth-largest bank with total assets of nearly 2 trillion baht.
The pilot 91 co-location branches will let the bank study customer reactions and prepare staff at both banks to work together, Mr Praphan said.
Co-location branches are picked from areas that have overlapping branches in commercial areas with high transaction volume and foot traffic, he said.
The selected branches will be refurbished and their logo will be changed to TMB-Thanachart Bank to communicate to customers that they can access financial services from both banks at a single place, Mr Praphan said.
"The co-location branches will offer a full array of financial services and products to ensure convenience for both banks' customers," he said. "We've developed a branch sales and service model to keep pace with changing financial behaviour, focusing on providing advisory to individuals."
Both TMB and Thanachart have different strengths, Mr Praphan said, with the former standing out in terms of deposit products and financial innovations, while the latter is a leader in retail loans, particularly auto lending.
TMB shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 0.90 baht, up two satang, in trade worth 120.4 million baht.
