You can’t replace staff with machines, says new bank boss

BRITAIN’S biggest banks are ‘enraging’ their customers by closing branches and ‘replacing humans with machines’, according to the American billionaire who is trying to take on the big five lenders.

Vernon Hill, founder of Metro Bank, has rejected the claims of rival bank bosses that customers today want to sort out all their finances online.

His criticism comes after all Britain’s biggest lenders ditched a crucial commitment to protect customers in rural communities and villages.

More than 500 branches are expected to shut this year, and in many that are still open, employees are being replaced by self-service machines.

Referring to Barclays, HSBC, Santander, RBS and Lloyds, Mr Hill said: ‘The big five banks have been running a cartel here for years – they have overcharged and underserved their customers, while massively underinvesting in their businesses.

‘Many of the big banks are trying to cost-cut their way to prosperity by replacing humans with machines. Customers are enraged by this – they’re being taken for granted.

‘They claim customers actually want to deal with machines not human beings. No one can possibly believe this is true.’

Metro Bank, which is 95 per cent owned by US investors including Mr Hill, became the first new bank on the High Street in more than a century when it was established in 2010. One of its key selling points is the fact it is open seven days a week, 362 days a year.

It now has 34 branches and around half a million customers, and plans to expand further and float on the London Stock Exchange next year.