We built it, they didn’t come: TSB to shut branches as more people bank online
TSB is closing the doors on 29 of its branches, as people increasingly favour banking online.
The challenger bank, which was spun out from Lloyds before being snapped up by Spanish Sabadell in 2015, said today some of its least popular locations are now serving fewer than 200 customers per week, pushing it to make the decision to shut some branches.
No job losses are planned because of these branch closures, as staff will be offered roles at nearby locations. Despite the closures, TSB estimates 42 per cent of the population will still be within two miles of one of its branches.
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The majority of the branches up for the chop are due to close in June.
"We love our branches and they are an important part of what TSB is here to do," said Peter Navin, distribution director at TSB. "People don’t go today where they went twenty years ago and we are reacting to that with changes to our network and a major investment programme."
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The challenger, which currently has over 580 branches in its network, is currently part way through a £250m investment programme for its branch and digital banking services. However, while many customers have made the switch to digital, the bank added half of new current accounts are still opened in branches and many people also preferred to deal with big ticket items, such as taking out a mortgage, face-to-face.
Last December, consumer group Which? revealed more than 1,000 bank branches across the UK had closed over the course of the last two years.