UK BANK BRANCH CLOSURES HIT RECORD

▶ 762 planned this year as more customers migrate to digital banking

for those who can’t or won’t bank online.

A spokeswoman for Co-Operative Bank, set to shut 10 branches this year, said, for example, its customers can do everyday transactions in any of 11,500 Post Office branches in Britain.

Barclays also said that it provides banking access via some Post Office outlets, as well as offering some pop-up branches and video banking services, while a spokeswoman for the banking industry body UK Finance said banks are investing in new ATMs and mobile bank branches to reach more rural communities.

Some newer competitors are also bucking the trend by growing their branch network.

The Swedish lender Handelsbanken, which operates more than 200 branches in Britain, said in February that it would keep expanding to take advantage as rivals scale back.

Metro Bank has opened 48 outlets since it started in July 2010 and plans to open a further eight to 10 this year, with a goal of growing to 110 by 2020, a spokeswoman said.

The bank’s strategy, however, in common with most rivals, is to target major towns and cities, meaning gaps left in rural areas by the retreat of major lenders are unlikely to be plugged in the near future.

Nationwide in April this year offered a crumb of comfort to such areas, opening a community-supported branch in the Somerset town of Glastonbury, which last year lost its remaining bank branches. It said it may open more such outlets, depending on the support of local communities.

Despite such measures, campaigners have lately been wondering how exactly many bank branches will be left given that the UK has around 25 per 100,000 adults, according to data from the World Bank and Citigroup, compared with just 17 across the Nordic countries, which are considered pioneers in the gradual transition to mobile and digital banking.