Lloyds to close 60 UK bank branches due to rise of online banking
Lloyds Banking Group has said it is shutting 60 bank branches across the UK, due to customers switching to online banking.
The banking conglomerate said it will close 24 Lloyds Bank branches, 19 Bank of Scotland branches, and 17 Halifax branches, on high streets across Britain, in response to record levels of online banking usage.
The move will see the closure of 60 banks in towns and cities across the UK, and will lead to the shuttering of Halifax’s Finchley Central branch in North London.
In total, Lloyds Banking Group has 1,476 high street stores, including 739 Lloyds Banks, 553 Halifax stores, and 184 Bank of Scotland branches.
Vim Maru, Group Retail Director, Lloyds Banking Group said: “Just like many other high street businesses, fewer customers are choosing to visit our branches.”
“Our branch network is an important way for us to support our customers, but we need to adapt to the significant growth in customers choosing to do most of their everyday banking online.”
Job losses
Trade union Unite said the closures will lead to 124 job losses, as it claimed that “more local communities will have their heart ripped out” by the Lloyds decision to shut the 60 branches.
Caren Evans, Unite national officer said: “When a bank branch closes the heart of the local community is ripped out and the results are devastating.”
“Unite is clear that simply leaving an ATM in place of a vibrant bank branch is wholly insufficient.”
Lloyds said it aims to offer all affected staff new positions within the company, but did not say how many workers would be impacted.
Lloyds decision to close 60 more high street stores come after the firm in October announced the closure of 48 bank branches.
The firm said the move comes after the numbers of people using online banking jumped 12 per cent to 18.6m and the number of people using mobile banking apps jumped 27 per cent, to 15 million, over the past two years.