- Here is how you could be affected by the latest closure of high street banks
Major UK banks will be closing more locations in another blow for beleaguered British high streets.
A number of banks are set to close their branch doors for the final time this month.
Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Halifax are among the latest banks to close more UK branches, which will see sites shut in areas such as London, Suffolk and Newcastle.
HSBC pulled down the shutters on four of its UK branches for good on Tuesday September 5. The branches that closed for the final time were in the following locations:
- Settle
- Epworth
- Holsworthy
- Hythe
Meanwhile, Barclays pulled down the shutters on four of its banks for the final time on September 1.
- London, Lower Ground Floor, The Arcade, Westfield – September 1
- Leominster, Corn Street – September 1
- Wellingborough, Market Street – September 1
- London, Putney High Street – September 1
- Barclays, St Ives – September 8
- Barclays, St Andrews – September 8
- Barclays, Haverhill – September 8
Santander shut two of its banks yesterday (Wednesday September 6), which were:
- Santander, Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes
- Santander, Grafton Gate East, Milton Keynes
The latest closures have seen banks being accused of ‘depriving’ the elderly and vulnerable of essential services after it emerged that one in eight branches will close this year.
Britain’s biggest high street lenders have axed 424 branches this year and a further 212 are set to close by the end of December.
And a further 42 banks are earmarked for closure in 2024, data from cash machine network Link reveals.
More than half of Britain’s branch network has closed since 2015, consumer rights group Which? reveals. After around 5,600 closures, there are now just 4,000 branches remaining.
Lenders have been cutting back on sites over recent years, claiming that more customers are switching to online banking and cash use is declining as more transactions are carried out on credit and debit cards.
But critics said axing branches is ‘grossly unfair’ on elderly and vulnerable customers, as well as on small businesses and those who need face-to-face advice.
Charity Age UK has blasted the ‘continuing avalanche’ of closures, saying that while those in rural areas are hardest hit ‘those in towns and cities are not immune’.
Its director Caroline Abrahams said: ‘Being able to manage your money is key to living independently as you age, but the rush towards digital banking means millions of older people are being deprived of this, simply because they do not use computers.
‘They are perfectly capable of organising their own finances, just not online. It is grossly unfair that they are being infantilised in this way and their legitimate interests brushed aside in the pursuit of profit.’
