Lloyds and NatWest to shut 81 branches
Lloyds and NatWest are the latest banking groups to announce the further axing of a number of their high street branches.
Between July and September, Lloyds Banking Group will close 26 Lloyds Banks outlets, nine Halifax branches, and four Bank of Scotland branches. NatWest says it will close 42 of its sites.
This comes days after Barclays announced the closure of 14 of its branches.
The two banking groups cited a lower amount of customer demand for in-person banking, as more people turn to online and mobile banking.
This echoed HSBC’s sentiment in December when it said that footfall levels showed no signs of recovery.
In January, Lloyds announced that 18 Halifax and 22 Lloyds sites would close, while NatWest said in November that 43 of its branches would shut in the first half of 2023.
A spokesperson for Lloyds 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”, they added.
A spokesperson for NatWest said: “We take our responsibility seriously to support the people who face challenges in moving online, so we are investing to provide them with support and alternatives that work for them.”