A little less help as another bank to close
YET another financial institution is set to close it doors in Macclesfield after it was announced the Halifax will shut next year.
The branch on Chestergate will have its final day on March 11 amid an ongoing shift away from high street banking.
Owners Lloyds confirmed the closure of 45 branches under its control on Thursday, November 30. These include 22 Halifax outlets, 19 Lloyds and Four Bank of Scotland.
It was said in Macclesfield 149 customers used the branch regularly in the 12 months to July this year.
Of these only 18 per cent were aged under 35 and both branch and machine transactions had fallen significantly - by 59 and 49 per cent respectively - in the last five years
The company says no compulsory redundancies are planned and all affected staff will be offered other roles at another branch or in a different part of the business.
A Halifax spokesman said: “The world is becoming more digital than ever before and more of our customers are doing their everyday banking online.
“With more customers banking digitally, we’ve seen a fall in branch visits. Because of this, we’ve decided to close this branch.
“You can use any of our branches and the nearest alternative is the Wilmslow branch. And after the branch closes we’ll have a community banker visit this area.
“They can offer support and guidance on the ways you can bank with us.”
Barclays shut its branch on the Market Place in April this year - one of 15 to go across the country with falling customer use blamed.
While Royal Bank of
Scotland shut its branch on Chestergate in October last year and Virgin Money made a similar decision
about its outlet on the Market Place in 2021.
Typically the closures have been accompanied
by an explanation that many people now use internet or telephone banking. Banks that remain in the town include HSBC, Lloyds, the Co-operative and Santander.