Lloyds Bank announces 56 branch closures this year
Lloyds Banking Group has announced today that it will close 56 branches across the UK.
The bank will close 31 Lloyds, 10 Halifax and 15 Bank of Scotland branches between April and October of this year.
The financial services union Accord said in a statement: “We fully appreciate that the demand for high street branch banking is diminishing as customers increasingly move to app-based banking but we’ll be examining LBG’s plans to ensure that they’re properly thought through and robustly evidenced.”
Accord said that the scale of the closures revealed today will take some by surprise.
The closures are the first since last August when it announced it was closing 12 Lloyds and three Halifax branches.
The union also said: “The overall level of staff reductions expected as a result of the closures is under 80 (full-time equivalent) as many of the staff are expected to be redeployed into other branches.”
Lloyds confirmed that it will seek redeployment where possible.
A Lloyds Banking Group spokesperson said: “We have confirmed that a number of branches will close between April and October this year. This is in response to changing customer behaviours and the reduced number of transactions being made in branches.”
In London, Lloyds will shut branches in Stoke Newington, Belvedere and London Blackheath.
The spokesperson added: “We are committed to having the largest branch network in the UK and, in addition to our branches, all our customers can also use the Post Office to access their banking locally, alongside our mobile branches which visit many rural communities.”