CLOSURE PROMISE

CLOSURES of bank branches have gathered pace in the past few years, with the big High Street lenders shutting 800 between them in 2017.

Natwest owner RBS is axing a further 420 this year, a third of its network, in a battle to reduce costs.

Nationwide boss Joe Garner said that his society could not commit to never closing branches, but he insisted there would be no widespread cost-cutting drive to slash the network.

Nationwide even opened an outlet last year in Glastonbury, Somerset, after the last bank in the town closed its doors. Garner said the move was popular with customers and the branch was widely used.