Lloyds and NatWest to shut an extra 80 branches: Is yours on the list?

Two major UK banks have announced they will close a further 80 branches this year. This is another blow to Britain’s beleaguered High Street, where more than 500 banks have closed in a decade.

Lloyds Banking Group and Natwest announced the closures today as a host of other financial institutions closed their doors on local sites.

In Lloyds Banking Group, the affected brands are Halifax, Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland.

Lloyds announced they would close 26 more branches, a further nine Halifax branches and two Bank of Scotland locations.

Natwest has said they will be closing 40 branches, while sister bank Royal Bank of Scotland is announcing five closures.

It comes after announcing Barclay’s closure earlier this week that they planned to close 14 more branches in England and Wales in June, in addition to the 55 branches the bank already planned to close this year, meaning at least 69 Barclays branches will close in 2023.

HSBC also plans to close 114 branches in the UK this year.

What do these closures mean for your local bank and how will they affect you?

NatWest

NatWest has announced it will close 40 more banks in Britain in 2023, in addition to the 66 it announced earlier this year – meaning 106 of its banks will be closed.

NatWest said average point-of-sale transactions had shrunk by nearly two-thirds in just two years, between January 2019 and January this year.

It saw a 38 percent increase in the number of customers using mobile apps over the same period.

But the company stressed that it has a helpline to guide customers through the process of setting up online and mobile services, with a shorter wait for those over 60.

The new NatWest stores that will be closing are:

1. NatWest Ashton-in-Makerfield June 27
2. NatWest Rothwell June 28
3. NatWest Tilehurst June 28
4. NatWest Bletchley June 29
5. NatWest Bristol 4th July
6. Nat West Croydon 4th July
7. NatWest deal July 5
8. NatWest London July 5
9. NatWest Romford July 6
10. NatWest Heald Green July 11
11. Nat West Hull July 11
12. NatWest Isleworth July 12
13. Nat West Knowle July 12
14. NatWest London July 13
15. NatWest New Malden July 13
16. Nat West Cardiff July 18
17. Nat West Croydon 19 July
18. NatWest Street July 19
19. Nat West Aldridge July 20
20. NatWest Whitley Bay July 20
21. Nat West Dorking July 25
22. NatWest March 25 July
23. Nat West Peterborough July 26
24. NatWest Tamworth July 27
25. NatWest Blandford Forum Aug 1
26. NatWest Wymondham August 1
27. Nat West Knutsford Aug 2
28. NatWest Runcorn August 2
29. NatWest Stony Stratford Aug 3
30. NatWest Bournemouth August 8
31. NatWest Westbury at Trym August 8
32. NatWest Brighouse August 9
33. Nat West Fakenham 10 Aug
34. NatWest Ryde August 10
35. Nat West Hertford 15 August
36. Nat West Brighton August 16
37. NatWest Christchurch August 16
38. NatWest London August 17
39. Nat West Fulwood Aug 17
40. Nat West Stratford Nov 30

Lloyd’s and Halifax

Lloyds Banking Group closes an additional 26 Lloyds branches and nine Halifax branches, reaching the total closure of each branch

It had previously said it would close 18 Halifax locations and 22 Lloyds branches between April and June this year.

The new closures bring the total number of Lloyds stores in the country to 667 and Halifax stores to 509.

The group said the branches selected for closure have seen attendance drop an average of about 60 percent over the past five years.

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: ‘Branches play an important role in our strategy, but we need to have them in the right places, where they are put to good use.

“We continue to invest in locations that are used regularly, in addition to our online, mobile app and telephone services.”

The new Lloyds branches that will close are:

1. Lloyd’s Benton July 17
2. Lloyds Peterborough July 17
3. Lloyd’s Fulwell July 20
4. Lloyd’s Chapeltown July 24
5. Lloyds London July 25
6. Lloyd’s Carlton July 26
7. Lloyd’s Cambridge July 31
8. Lloyds Shepton Mallet July 31
9. Lloyd’s Hazel Grove August 1
10. Lloyds London August 1
11. Lloyds London August 2
12. Lloyd’s Tumble August 3
13. Lloyd’s Eckington August 9
14. Lloyds New Mills August 17
15. Lloyd’s Corringham 21 August
16. Lloyds Wotton-Under-Edge August 23
17. Lloyds Downham Market Sept 4
18. Lloyd’s Shirebrook Sept 4
19. Lloyd’s Sidmouth Sept 5
20. Lloyds Porthcawl Sept 7
21. Lloyds Withernsea Sept 12
22. Lloyd’s Wellington Sept 13
23. Lloyds Newcastle upon Tyne Sept 14
24. Lloyds East Horsley Sept 18
25. Lloyds Ystradgynlais September 19
26. Lloyd’s Doncaster Sept 20

The new Halifax locations that will close are:

1. Halifax Catford July 18
2. Halifax Bristol July 19
3. Halifax Tadcaster August 22
4. Halifax Denton August 30
5. Halifax Otley Sept 5
6. Halifax Newton Aycliffe Sept 6
7. Halifax Portcawl Sept 7
8. Halifax Newmarket Sept 11
9. Halifax Mirfield Sept 21

> Eight new banking hubs revealed: is one coming near you?

Other bank closures announced this year include Barclays, Santander and HSBC

Barclays’ decision to close at least 69 branches by the end of 2023 comes after the bank had already closed 67 percent of their UK branches since 2015.

Barclays’ move means their customers now have to rely on pop-up sites and ‘banking pods’ when they need personalized support.

These ‘bank pods’ are semi-permanent locations that can be moved to different cities to meet demand.

Currently, Barclays has 200 pop-up sites and ten banking pods, with plans to add another 70 pop-up sites in the near future.

In addition, the bank has an educational and support service to provide financial advice to their customers.

A Barclays spokesperson said: ‘As branch visits continue to decline, we must adapt to provide the best service to all our customers.

“When there is no longer enough demand to support a branch, we continue to be personally present through our Barclays Local network, living in over 200 locations, located in libraries, town halls, mobile vans and our new banking pods.

“We also support access to cash with our no-purchase cashback service, 24-hour ATMs and by working with the Post Office and Cash Access UK.”

Santander has already announced the closure of five stores in 2023.

The company’s chairman, William Vereker, 62, is listed in a £17 million mansion seven minutes from a central London branch.

This is not one of the other 310 branches the bank has closed.

In December, MailOnline revealed that HSBC planned to close 114 UK branches by 2023.

HSBC previously said, after announcing the closure of more than 100 branches, that about 100 employees could leave the bank, but emphasized that it hopes to redeploy all of its employees in the affected branches to other roles within HSBC, either to other branches , or to another position.

It said it planned to speak to all staff in the branches because of the closure, but estimated around 100 workers could leave.

It is also developing new banking hubs and community pop-ups to shake up the network and connect more investments in digital banking services.

In addition, since 2021, it has provided 1,500 free Samsung tablets to customers selected by local affiliates who cannot afford or do not have access to equipment to help with digital banking, HSBC said.

Jackie Uhi, general manager of distribution for HSBC UK, said: ‘People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, and there are no signs of this returning.

“Remote banking is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.”

Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland have jointly announced seven closures.

The Royal Bank of Scotland branch closures are:

1. RBS Tranent July 27
2. RBS Johnstone August 15

The Bank of Scotland closures are:

1. BoS Bearsden July 25
2. BoS Edinburgh July 26
3. BoS Pollokshields July 27
4. BoS Cults August 14
5. Royal Bank of Scotland:

Bank branch closures are exacerbating the strife in UK high streets

Barclays’ move follows that of other banks, which have closed major branches in large parts.

Banks say they are doing this as customers move to online and phone banking, but closures are also drastically cutting their costs.

The massive impact of the pandemic on the high street has resulted in shops and banks closing by the thousands.

Figures from 2021 show that in 2012 there were only 8,810 banks in cities, towns and cities across the UK – down from 13,300 in 2012 and 20,583 in 1988.

The increase in bank closures is also driven by a drop in cash transactions, with contactless payment becoming the preferred method for many.

Earlier this year, we revealed that since 2015, an average of 54 banks a month have closed UK high streets.

This has forced residents in certain parts of the UK to travel up to 15 miles to get to their nearest branch.

Meanwhile, bosses at HSBC, NatWest, Nationwide, Barclays, Virgin Money, TSB, Santander and Lloyds with a registered address in the UK all live within 15 minutes of their local branch.

The massive closure of large branches makes banking more difficult for the vulnerable, the elderly and anyone who needs personal advice.

While banks will point to an increase in pop-up sites to help customers, and the use of mobile apps and technology to make banking faster, closing branches can only serve to ostracize and frustrate customers.