‘Third of UK bank branches closed in the last five years’

AROUND a third of the UK’s bank branches have shut within the past five years alone, according to Which?

Hundreds more which remain open have slashed their opening hours, with some just open for one or two days a week.

There were 3,303 bank branch closures, equating to 34% of the network, between January 2015 and August 2019, the consumer group said.

The network has reduced in size from 9,803 branches to 6,549 over the period, with the number of closures being slightly offset by 49 branches also opening.

Of the UK’s bank branches that remain open, 298 are now operating with reduced opening hours of four days a week or less, Which? said.

Eleven of these branches - all in Scotland - open for just one day a week, while 45 branches nationwide open for just two days per week.

The shrinking branch network has been driven by a wave of closures by major high street names.

Which? said NatWest - part of the RBS Group - closed 638 branches, while sister bank RBS has shut 412 - equating to 74% of its UK branches.

HSBC made 442 closures and Barclays shut at least 481 branches - Which? said Barclays did not share full bank closure numbers with it, so the total could be higher.

Within Lloyds Banking Group, Lloyds Bank closed 404 branches, while Bank of Scotland shut 95 branches and Halifax shed 70 of its branches.

Meanwhile, Santander closed 294 branches, the Co-op lost 152 and Yorkshire Bank shut 74, Which? said.

Which? said that by contrast, Nationwide Building Society has retained an “impressive” 96% of its branches.

Nationwide has pledged not to leave any town or city in which it is currently based without a branch until at least May 2021.

Which? recently wrote to Chancellor Sajid Javid calling for action to guarantee people’s ability to access and pay with cash.

Jenny Ross, Which? money editor, said: “Banks are closing their branches at an alarming rate, which risks shutting many people out of vital financial services and affecting their ability to access their own cash.

“The industry must ensure no-one is left behind by the digital transition and that when banks shut their doors, they don’t shut their customers out of important banking services.”

A spokesman for UK Finance said: “Research shows that consumers are increasingly choosing new ways to help them with their banking. But technology is not for everyone and maintaining access to cash is vital to ensure no-one is left behind.”