Banking group set to make significant withdrawal

LLOYDS AND HALIFAX OUTLETS’ LOSS ‘BITTER BLOW’, SAYS UNION

TWO Halifax branches and one branch of Lloyds are set to close.

The Lloyds banking group confirmed Halifax in Market Harborough and Hinckley, as well as a Lloyds in Oakham, will be shut.

Overall, there are 29 Lloyds Bank and 15 Halifax branches closing nationwide.

The Unite union said the decision was a “bitter blow” to staff and customers and accused the bank of “walking away” from communities.

Vim Maru, retail director for Lloyds Banking Group, said: “We’ve seen our digital banking customers grow by over four million in five years, to almost 18 million, of which 13.6 million also choose to be active app users.

“This means that, like many busion the high street, we must change for a future where branches will be used in a different way and visited less often.

“We’ll continue to invest in our high street presence. This week we’re opening a concept Bank of Scotland branch in Edinburgh, the only bank to take up residence in the new St James Quarter.

“Importantly, we’ll continue to give our customers a choice in how they bank, with branches sitting alongside telephone banking, online and mobile banking, our video appointment services, our cashback through shops programme, our participation in the industry BankHUB cash initiative and 11,500 post offices, at which our customers can bank and access cash.”

Unite national officer Caren Evans said: “The decision by Lloyds to further erode its presence within our communities is baffling.

“The closure of 44 more bank branches will deny our communities essential services such as access to cash and experienced, highly trained staff.

“An ATM is not a suitable alternative to a staffed bank branch.

“In recent times Lloyds has spent significant resource to sell its message of “Helping Britain Recover”.

“Unite seriously questions how this decision to walk away from communities promotes this mesnesses sage at a time when the customers will rely on the financial services sector support more than ever.

“Unite does not view the bank branch network as a disposable commodity and the union believes the branch network has a value far beyond its immediate commerciality.

“Unite wants to see Lloyds Banking Group invest in the branch network and commit to a meaningful presence in our communities.”

Lloyds said more than a third of the branches being closed are in or near cities and large towns, with other branches “very close by”.

It said across the group’s branches, transactions fell by 10 per cent a year in the five years to March 2020, and significantly further since.

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