Lloyds Banking Group will wind down 26 Lloyds, nine Halifax and four Bank of Scotland sites, while 40 NatWest and two RBS branches will be closed
The NatWest branch at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. (Credit: Giano at English Wikipedia)
UK-based large banks Lloyd’s banking group and NatWest are reportedly planning to reduce their branch networks this year, by closing more than 80 locations across the country.
The bank branches, located in England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man, are planned to be closed between July and November this year.
Lloyds Banking Group will wind down 26 Lloyds, nine Halifax and four Bank of Scotland sites, while 40 NatWest and two RBS branches will be closed.
The banks have selected 213 sites across the country for closing, including 63 NatWest and 58 Barclays closing the most in the first three months of this year.
Nationwide, TSB and Virgin Money will also close a small number of branches each.
Lloyds spokesperson said: “Our customers are increasingly using digital channels to manage their money – we now have over 20 million regular digital users, so it’s important we continue to develop the online services our customers want to use.
“Our branches will continue to be an option for our customers, alongside our telephone services, mobile app and online bank.”
The announcement comes days after Barclays unveiled its plans to close 14 additional outlets.
In October last year, NatWest said it will close 43 branches during the first half of this year, and in January last year, Lloyds unveiled its plans to close 18 Halifax branches and 22 Lloyds sites.
Both Lloyds and NatWest said that the customer demand for traditional counter services has been reducing as more people switch to online and mobile banking.