More branches of Lloyds and Halifax are set to disappear from high streets as their owner announced another 28 closures. The move will see 20 Lloyds Bank and eight Halifax branches close down between August and November.
Owner Lloyds Banking Group said falling usage was to blame. The Unite union said the move affected 69 workers.
Lloyds Banking Group - which also owns Royal Bank of Scotland - said each of the affected branches had a free cash machine or Post Office within one mile, reports the Mirror.
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: "It remains true that online and mobile banking continue to grow, as branch usage falls. On average, visits to these 28 branches have dropped by 60% since 2016, while we now have 18.6 million regular online banking customers and over 15 million mobile app users."
Unite national officer Caren Evans said:“The branch closure announcement today that another profit making financial institution is failing to consider the needs of consumers and staff beggars’ belief. This news is another example of a bank choosing to walk away from the communities who need access to banking.
“The actions of Lloyds Banking Group over the last few months are completely inexcusable. The management is letting down customers and their dedicated workforce.
“These closures will leave some customers more than 10 miles from their nearest bank branch. This is a betrayal of some of the most vulnerable, elderly and socially excluded in our communities who need local access to community banking.”
Unite said more than 5,000 bank and building society branches have closed since 2015. The new closures mean the banking group will have closed 88 branches by the end of 2022.
The full list of bank branches closures announced today is below.
Lloyds branches closing
Norwich Heartsease - 23/08/2022
Thatcham - 24/08/2022
Ashby-de-la-Zouch - 25/08/2022
Bilborough Nottingham - 31/08/2022
Broadstone - 31/08/2022
Letchworth - 01/09/2022
Nottingham Hyson Green - 06/09/2022
Oadby - 06/09/2022
Plympton - 07/09/2022
Verwood - 07/09/2022
Ilfracombe - 12/09/2022
Whickham - 12/09/2022
Atherstone - 13/09/2022
Hadleigh - 14/09/2022
Swanage - 19/09/2022
Ystrad Mynach - 20/09/2022
Bourne - 21/11/2022
Heald Green - 22/11/2022
Banstead - 24/11/2022
Williton - 24/11/2022
Halifax branches closing
Coalville - 22/08/2022
Falmouth - 07/09/2022
Hoddesdon High St - 01/09/2022
Manchester Trafford - 05/09/2022
Lewes - 05/09/2022
Walton Vale - 08/09/2022
Dover - 13/09/2022
Dorchester - 22/11/2022
Brits can access some banking services at Post Offices due to a tie-up between banks and the mail delivery institution. Banks pay the Post Office to do this to offset the impact of them closing branches.
However, this range of services is limited compared to a proper bank branch. You cannot open a bank account at a Post Office, for example, or sort out issues with your account. What you can do at a Post Office also depends which bank you are with.
If you are a Bank of Scotland, HSBC or Lloyds customer you can use all Post Office banking services - withdrawing and depositing cash, checking your balance and depositing a cheque. But if you bank with Nationwide, all you can do is withdraw cash and check your balance.
